Pandora's Panic Box
by Raven6224
Summary: Panic Stark, daughter of genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark's, life hasn't been all roses and ruffles. Especially with a new baby brother, Toby Stark, who she wants nothing to do with, a bad feeling of being jealous and replaced, and flashes of a familiar person that couldn't be there. How will Panic handle reality when she finds out the chilling cold truth?
1. A Start to the End

_Chapter One: A Start to the End_

 ** _Welcome everyone, to the first story of Phase 2, so while you all have no idea what's going to happen, I do and this plot will travel between all three stories in the series and a lot of secrets and conspiracies have been happening behind the scenes and they're gonna blow your mind. I've put a lot of thought and work into this, so I hope you all like it, be sure to follow, favorite, and comment!_**

 ** _READ THE AUTHORS NOTE BELOW!_**

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It's been a week since the birth of monster baby Toby, so I've practically lived at Rae's ever since. We have a research paper due tomorrow so I'm not downright avoiding Dad and Pepper but then again, I am. It might be immature of me to do that, and actively avoid Dad and Pepper because of their having a baby together, but then again I already know that.

"Rae, there isn't a single article about the impact on Fruit Bats if they flew in the daytime rather than at night," I whine, scooting her laptop away from me and further across her purple and black bedspread.

"Well maybe if you keep looking, you will find an article about why you are so dumb," she winks, tone completely teasing which is so unlike her. Wow, I must be rubbing off on her. Sticking my tongue out at her may not have been the most mature thing in the world to do but honestly, I don't really care about seeming responsible and mature.

If Dad and Pepper think I'm responsible then they'll force me to babysit, it, and I don't want to loose my freedom to watch their kid, that's how it works right. Parents have the oldest kid babysit their younger ones so they don't have to while the older kids are forgotten and paid no attention. So maybe I'm not quite over my volatile feelings.

"Look who's trying to be sassy," I mock, raising an eyebrow, as Rae doubles over in a fit of laughter. Her inky black hair has gotten longer since she and I relocated to New York City. It now cascades down around her shoulders in messy natural crimping style, even her skins got some color now, most likely my doing.

I force her to come down to the beach with me, Oliver, and his sister Sierra. Somehow Rae and I managed to acquire two more friends in the nine months between Toby's birth but I've been somewhat dishonest to Dad, not that I've seen much of him lately seeing as I avoid going to my own home because of a crying baby that I silently resent.

While I know it's not right for me to hate Toby because he's just a baby and can't express himself or do anything for himself, I can't help but feel an unwarranted hatred of him and I feel so awful about it but that's the way I feel and I don't know what to do to stop feeling this way because I'd tried everything, including internet research and come up with nothing.

Dad doesn't know Oliver's a guy, that's my big secret that Dad doesn't know about because I was careful about what I said when I still went back home. Whenever I would leave the house to go meet Oliver, Rae, and Sierra, I'd tell Dad or Pepper that I was going to visit my friend Ollie, they just assumed that it was sort for Olivia or Olive, I never said that it was and they never asked.

Besides, knowing Tony Stark, he'd do something super embarrassing in front of Oliver or accuse us of dating in secret behind his back and not telling him about it which isn't true. Him knowing just wouldn't be good for me, Oliver, or our friendship. Oliver and I are not dating and besides, even if we were it wouldn't be his business anyways.

"You know you are going to have to go home eventually Panic," Rae says, breaking the once comfortable silence which has now been drowned and flooded with dread.

"I know Rae, but that doesn't mean I have to like it and besides, this is the last night I have an excuse to spend my nights here as our paper's due tomorrow," I say, falling back on the bed. Staring up at the ceiling, I place my hands under my head to prop it up. My thoughts flicker away and I'm not sure how long I'm like that but snap out of it when I start talking.

"Hey Rae, have you heard from... you know, especially after your birthday last month?"

She shakes her head no, sadly. During summer vacation Thor took Rae to Asgard as Odin wanted to meet her personally and while she didn't tell me exactly what happened, I can tell that it had something to with Loki, why she's been sadder than usual. He is her dad after all and she wants him to want her or at least care enough about her to know when her birthday is.

"Oliver sent me a text message only a few hours ago, before you got back from raiding my refrigerator, he had asked if we wanted to join him at the mall as his mother is making him drive Sierra to the mall to get her a Homecoming dress," Rae reads the message off of her cell phone screen before setting it back down on her desk.

"When?" I ask, sitting up and scooting closer to Rae as she reaches for her phone again.

Titling the screen towards me so I can see, she reads it aloud, not that she needed to but I think she wanted to, being smug about it and all. "Tomorrow after school he's heading right over."

I nod my head. "Sure, besides, it'll keep me out of the house even longer," I say, laying back down as the clicking of computer keys lulls me to a peaceful sleep.

 _ **. . . .**_

Loud chatter filters throughout the cafeteria while I sit alone at a long grey lunch table in the back side of the room, waiting for Rae, Oliver, and Sierra to make their way through the lunch line. While everything's been so normal lately, I can't help but feel apprehensive about what the future foretells, that I don't know about.

While Loki is behind bars in Asgard, Jedidiah and Nereza are dead, my step-father Ian Powell gone, I should feel more at ease now than anytime in my whole life but I don't. It's like a perpetual clock ticking endlessly until the storm blows through and rips everything apart. For me, it seems to be an ominous feeling in the air, not that anything bad has happened.

It's just a dark cloud that looms over me and the world and nothing seems to make it go away, not trying to forget, keeping occupied, or anything really, I just know that something is gathering in the outskirts and it's only a matter of time before it comes out into the open and begins to destroy everything at once peaceful.

The sound of three trays slapping the tabletop draws me out from my thoughts as Rae sits down beside me as per usual, Oliver across from me, messy milk chocolate colored hair falling to his chin, flipping up in the typical emo/skater boy style, and finally Sierra beside him, medium length blond hair falling down in straight strands to her shoulder blades.

Sierra laughs at something that happens across the cafeteria before turning back to us. She's a three years younger than Rae, Oliver, and I and is a Freshman at our school but is the type of person most people like. Oliver is attempting to shove a whole slice of pizza in his mouth for some unknown reason, I can only tell because I can see him from my peripheral vision.

We met Oliver and Sierra down at the park when he wiped out of his skateboard while on the half-pipe that has been installed there. Through him we met Sierra and here we all ended up. Sitting at a lunch table all planning to go down to the mall for no other reason that for, well Sierra to get her homecoming dress, Oliver being forced to drive, me to avoid going to my home, the circus, and Rae just because I am.

"You all up for some epic mall action?" Oliver asks, after somehow managing to survive swallowing all that food he scarfed into his mouth. Playing along I decided to crack a joke of my own. Sarcasm and cleaver wordplay is my forte after all.

"Oh absolutely," I exclaim, sounding like a giddy school girl by pitching my voice higher and exaggerating movements to add some flare. Batting my eyelashes, I continue. "There is nothing I'd rather do, well, maybe go to the Nation Air and Space Museum."

Oliver playfully tosses a stack of napkins at me, playfully glares while running a hand through his hair, carelessly shaking it back into place whilst sticking out his tongue at me.

"So mature..." I reply, raising an eyebrow.

He nods his head in a cocky way. "You know it."

Just as he's about to say more the bell to dismiss lunch rings and so he instead says, "See you in a couple hours ladies, and Sierra," he says, shooting her a teasing look.

"Oliver!" she screams, shooting him a deathly glare.

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 _ **A/N: Okay, so I'm gonna be honest. I only have ten chapters completed on this story but because you've all waited so patiently I decided to post the first chapter, I will post at least once a week. That's the plan at least and I won't be updating this story after this until I post the final chapter of Raven's story which shouldn't be long. Anyways, that's all I needed to tell you all, so I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and get ready for an amazing new adventure for Panic and Co.**_


	2. Flash of the Past

_Chapter Two: Flash of the Past_

 ** _Here we go, the next chapter of this series, I hope you all enjoyed the beginning chapter and I know it may be a bit boring but the real plot begins right now so brace yourselves for the awesomeness to come. Now be sure to favorite and comment!_**

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Leaning back against a wall bordering the inside of Scarlet's Stunning Fashion Boutique, I watch Oliver and Rae try to help Sierra find a dress to wear to Homecoming. She's been bugging Rae to attend with her so luckily she hasn't tried to trick or bribe me into attending that hellish excuse of a school dance, but then again, considering Tony Stark's my dad bribery would be pointless.

Especially since I could out bribe them any day, so that also adds in my favor of not having to go to this stupid dance that I actively avoided, in fact, since I've started going to school again, I avoid all dances and sports. The only extra-curricular activities I participate in are the occasional science fairs that our school holds.

Oliver gives up on helping his sister find a perfect dress, instead hurries away to where I reside on the outskirts of Women's dress section of the store, He leans back against the wall like me and watches as his sister continues to fret over not having the perfect outfit picked yet. Rae on the other hand looks like she wants to turn her into a frog.

Not that I can blame her all that much because I don't have that kind of patience either, she doing a hell of a lot better than I would be doing in Rae's situation because I'd probably throat punch her or flat out say that I don't give a flying fuck about helping her pick out a dress. While it is incredibly harsh, that's just the way I am.

Honest to the core, especially now, after everything that has happened. The only times I lie are when it's the best decision to make, like not telling Oliver and Sierra about all my chance encounters will possible death. Not only would that probably terrify them on some level, but it would also make them question our friendship and so, they don't know.

Beside, them knowing would only put them in even more danger than they already are just by association with me. Rae's the only one who knows the full extent of craziness in my life, mostly because her life's just as crazy, if not less crazy, than my own. Not even including the fact that she's the daughter of Loki and has supernatural abilities, that I don't know that much about.

It never really dawned on me until now that I've never really found out what all she can actually do, I know she can read people's mind but what other abilities and things is she really capable of? I'll have to ask the next time I spend the night at her house when her mom's at work as she doesn't like talking about anything to do with Loki and their time together.

Plus with Loki's whole, 'let's dominate the humans despite my daughter being half one' thing kind of gives her mom reason enough to want to hate her child's father with a passion. I mean honestly she can be as bitter and resentful as she wants because he deserves it for all the shit that he did, I mean he destroyed New York and attempted to get rid of the Avengers in the past.

Raven still being able to cope with the real world is a miracle in and out of itself, especially with the lack of a father figure in her life and maybe that's why we work well together because we both share a similar sort of background with having a single parent and one that isn't so great. My asshole step-father filling that crappy role.

The difference is that while I ended up getting a supportive, caring father figure in later life, she didn't and still doesn't have that and her knowing that I didn't grow up as this rich, entitled snob adds character not only to me but her perspective on me as a friend. That also may be the reason Rae's so adamant about me going home and talking with Dad.

While I understand her reasoning, I just can't and am dreading the moment I have to head back to the tower of nightmares and sleepless nights because I know that baby cries all the time. Another thing that has been bugging me is that, while Dad and Pepper know that I've been spending the night at Rae's and they never even call to check in on me or see how I'm doing.

That hurts more than anything else, I know they're extremely busy now that they have a precious baby together, that it's _'theirs'_ but still, why wouldn't they care enough about me to at least call and ask how I am, or if I'm okay?

"Hey, Panic are you okay?" Oliver asks at my side, tapping me lightly.

I give a waning smile that I know he and everyone else can see right through but I don't have the energy to fake it. Shrugging my shoulders I respond with, "I'm always fine."

"What's wrong?" Oliver presses, trying to get me to spill and while I appreciate his concern, I really don't want it but I know that if I don't tell him, he'll keep pestering me until I spill my guts to him so I might as well give in now rather than want to smack his head off as if it were a bobble-head hours later and so I do.

"My dad and his new wife Pepper had a baby about a week ago and since then I've avoided going home, even spending my days at Rae's and used our project as reasoning but now that it's over I have to go home and I really don't want to. Did you know that they haven't checked in on me, no once, since that baby was born?" I say, looking over at him.

Oliver laughs lightly, shaking his head. "You know, I felt the exact same way when I Sierra was born, I may have only been about four when she was born but I can still remember the distance between my parents and me. To be honest, I can still feel the line between us. Sierra's their favorite after all, she can get them to do, or buy, anything she wants."

Glancing over, I raise an eyebrow at him. "I thought you were supposed to be helping me feel better about going back home, not dreading the idea even more then I already do."

He shrugs. "I'm not going to lie about the difficulty of being an older child, while it has its negatives like being forced to babysit and getting it trouble on their beacon call, there are positives,"

"Like what?" I ask, rolling my eyes in mock humor. "Being able to say you live in justifiable hell?"

"Funny, funny but wait and listen Driving Miss Daisy," I waves an index finger at me in fake scolding before dropping his hand back to his side. "No, I have an ally now. Back when we were young she'd tattle and it bugged me but now, she's got my back and I've got hers."

"Eek! I love it, Panic! What do you think of this dress?" Sierra squeals thrusting an aqua colored strapless dress with strings that tie around the neck and are attached to the top center of the dress towards me. It flows down in beautiful lacy blue layers that poof out like some baked pastry and falls just long enough to cover her heels if she plans on wearing a pair.

"It looks great," I say, giving her a look that says not to ask me anything else. While my dad may be filthy rich, that doesn't mean I know a damn thing when it comes to fashion. Sierra really picked the wrong people to come and help her choose what dress and shoes to pick as none of us really care in the least bit.

She glares at me and purses her lips. "You could at least pretend to be a little more enthusiastic Stark."

I tilt my head back and forth like I'm considering the possibility before shrugging. "I could but then I'd be lying and I promised not to lie anymore so tough luck huh?"

"Okay, I'm going to try this on and I need you to tell me if it looks good or not," Sierra blurts, scurrying towards the dressing room and just as I turn my head I see something in the corner of my eye. When I glance back, whatever it was that I saw is gone, no one is standing on the other side of the glass widow pane beside us.

It was a flash of red and so I chalk it up to some passerby's red shirt but in the back of my mind, I know what I saw was something else but if I ignore it, perhaps it'll just go away.


	3. A Million Falling White Petals

_Chapter Three: A Million Falling White Petals_

 ** _Welcome back to another installment in this story with Panic being a badass just by existing so last time Panic though she saw something while Raven and Oliver we're trying to help Sierra find a new dress, also what do you think of their new friends? I just sort of added them so she could have more people to hang out with and am curious to see how you all like them. Be sure to favorite this story and leave comments on what you like._**

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Dread sinks into every bone in my body as I slowly drag myself up the sidewalk towards the front of Avengers Tower, my heart pounds like a bass drum, my face burns with anger, and my hands are clammy, sweaty, and so not sexy in the least. It's so odd to be back at this place that, at one time, felt like a second home to me, now it seems like a hell house, a place for my demise and a universe for my hatred to dwell.

My body feels heavy, like I'm made of stone. I practically am dragging my feet forward as a futile attempt to gain even a tiny bit of headway when it comes to entering the tower but by the time I reach the door I question whether or not it would be better to instead turn right back around, march outside, and spend the night on a park bench nearby. It may be January and as cold as the damn North Pole but it still would be better then being at home.

I mean there's snow on the ground for god sake out here and still I'm considering the possibility, that should tell everyone and anyone all they need to know about my current relationship with Dad and Pepper. Pushing open the doors I step into the main floor and glance around, noticing how nothing here seems to have changed but this isn't the place where the baby will be in. At least until he's old enough to walk and explore by himself.

Leaning back against the wall of the elevator, I watch the metal doors close almost soundlessly, trapping me inside until it reaches the living room. My center of gravity falls away as the elevator slowly shoots upwards, the air seems to get hot and heavy with each floor passing. I watch the dark red letters on the mini rectangular screen above the doors, watch the passing on floors, Floor 2, Floor 3, Floor 4, CLASSIFIED, Labs, but something goes wrong.

The lights overhead flicker slightly, I pretend that I hadn't noticed anything and just when everything seems to be alright and just my overactive imagination, the elevator jumps, freezing in place. Suddenly the lights dance until I'm plunged into utter darkness with the only light being the red letters. Suddenly the elevator begins to shake, nearly knocking me off my feet as I try to hold back a scream that is bubble up in my throat.

I hear the elevator give a low groan and the sound of bolts falling down the elevator shaft, never to be seen again, maybe that's how this'll end for me as well, except if the elevator falls I'll end up as a simple splatter of blood and body parts like a bug on a windshield. The room quakes, much harder this time, actually knocking me to the ground and I glance up and watch the red letters fall away into darkness, only to be replaced by something else.

Staring back at me is a five letter word: _GHOST_

My mouth goes dry and a lump wells up in my throat making it hard for me to swallow, hard to breathe. Closing my eyes, my body involuntarily drop into a sitting position. I pull my knees up to my chest and bury my head into them, bracing my hands behind my head as fear overtakes me. My head is spinning and my heart pounds, the room spins and shakes with each shutter, and I feel my warm tears soaking into my jeans.

"Panic..." I hear someone say my name, glancing up, the elevator door is opened on the living room floor, the lights are shinning bright like they never went off, there is no rattling, and the red letters say Living Area. Nat is crouched by me, her auburn hair falling down around her face in beautiful curls, her brows are creased in concern as she glances at me with wide green eyes.

Rubbing my face, I stand back up and shake my head, still unsure about what just happened or if it even really did. I'm pretty sure it did but how come when Nat said my name, I was in the right place and nothing was going on? Besides, the weirdest thing is actually seeing Nat for once. She's been very busy for a while and I haven't seen her much.

We haven't talk or hung out since when we first met and that makes me wonder about things between us. "I-I," I glance around the elevator a moment as Nat rises to her feet. "I'm fine."

She steps out of the elevator and stops as I walk past her before proceeding beside me. Nat's dressed in a dark red T-shirt with a V-neck dip, dark blue jeans, and a pair of tennis shoes. "Are you sure Panic, because while I may be a spy, I don't even need those skills to tell that something startled you."

No, it had to have been my imagination because if Nat, a spy, didn't see anything wrong then it most certainly be all in my head. That's the only logical explanation for what happened and I'll stick with that assumption. "Don't worry about it, I just get a bit... claustrophobic in elevators, that's all."

She raises an eyebrow at me and I know she doesn't believe my explanation but she leaves it at that and says nothing further on the subject. She turns, heading towards the stairs that lead downwards where the gym and training rooms are while I head up towards my new room. The annoyingly loud and irritating cry of baby Toby is what I am greeted by.

While his room is actually not on my floor, as he has a room by Pepper and Dad's room, on the other side of the wall that separates between the long hallways where my old, and new room are, that doesn't stop that fitful baby's wailing from traveling through the wall and into my section of this tower. Dad actually added on to this hallway and his reasons are why I moved rooms.

In the hallway where all Dad's stupid art shit hangs on the wall is will all eventually be playrooms for Toby when he's older and so because of that baby I had to move my room further into the new addition of the tower and while my room is bigger now, that doesn't change the way I feel about this whole circumstance and reason behind my having to move rooms.

How come I don't get a room for dedicated for just me, not my bedroom, but a place that is just for my entertainment like the huge playroom Toby's going to get once construction of the rooms are done, the construction workers are blowing out the walls between each bedroom on the part of the hallway and will make one giant room, as well as the rooms across from my old room.

Opening the door to my bedroom I cover my mouth with my hands as my eye flicker over the red paint splattered across my wall with words written across the wall over my bed. _FOREVER SOUNDING CYMBAL._

My body trembles as I step into the room and close the door almost silently behind me as I reach under my bed and pull out the remaining bucket of paint used on my walls, pull out a paintbrush from my desk, and paint over the ugly, dripping red message in the same gray color as the rest of the wall and go back to pretending that everything's okay, even when I know it's not.

It's better this way, I tell myself. The less you know the better and that's how I intend to stay.

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 _ **A/N: So! What do you all think about what just happened? And I know that the message is a tad bit odd but trust me when I say there's more than meets the eye when it comes to this message. Leave any questions and theories below and what was your reaction to the elevator scene, Panic's hatred of Toby, and the message written on her wall? Anyways, until next time!**_


	4. Art of Denial

_Chapter Four: Art of Denial_

 ** _So, last time Panic had a incident in the elevator when she returned home and then in her room where someone or something had written a message on her wall in big red letters. Be sure to favorite this story and leave me lots of comments on what you think and your theories on what is happening and what about Panic's denial? Do you agree that she should pretend that nothing's happening or do you understand why she is?_**

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After the unusual events that have happened as of late I have decided to pretend nothing happened and chalk it up to just being tired and stressed about coming home for the first time since Toby was born. That's the only thing that makes enough since to me and so with that in mind, I'm going to pretend like it is even when I know it's not true because I can't deal with anymore drama, especially now.

I dig through my closet for something to wear to school today, currently it's about six in the morning so I have plenty of time but my hands are shaking from nerves that I've been trying to calm since five. Fed up, I pull out a red and black striped top with a swoop neck and leather lines covering the seams and cutting across my stomach to make the shape of an X by the time it reached the tops hem.

Next I pull on a knee length, plain black skirt with slight ruffling around the bottom and lastly a pair of leather boots that stop just below my knees. Instead of leaving my hair down like usual, I pull it up in a medium ponytail so it instead falls to my waist instead of far past there, leave a few strands around my face to give it a frame and style.

Swooping by, I grab my backpack and pull it over mu shoulders just as I descend the staircase to see all of the housemates glance up at me, most of them surprised that I'm actually here for once. My gaze flickers over all the faces around me before dropping to the ground as I start down the stairs as quickly as possible as to avoid seeing Dad and Pepper but damn my luck.

Just as I reach the door, the elevator opens and Dad steps in Pepper behind him with the baby wrapped up in its blue blanket, completely hidden from sight, resting in her arms. Her strawberry blond hair is messy and dark rings circle her eyes. Dad looks like a zombie with pale skin, dark purple rings under his eyes like Pepper but was slouching more and more with each step.

Before he or Pepper can get a word out, I turn and hurry out the door and take the stairs down to the main floor where Rae is waiting, her sleek black hair falling straight around her shoulders. She glances over once I step onto the main floor, blinking her dark green eyes a few times before falling into step beside me, her mouth in a firm line like she doesn't want to say anything to upset me.

I think she knows something is off with me, that something happened that I'm not telling her but she doesn't push me to tell her and for that I have to say I'm grateful for because I really want to pretend last night didn't happen. Just as we step out into the chilly January air, Rae starts talking as she zips up her green hoodie and silently I wish I'd brought something to cover up with.

"Well to put your mind at ease, I have managed to complete all final touches on that essay we are required to present this morning to the entire class so at least we do not have to worry about embarrassing ourselves before our entire class so there is that to be relieved about."

"You can tell something's wrong can't you?" I ask in a hushed whisper as we make our way down the bustling sidewalk. Thousands of men, women, and teenagers scurry past us, bumping, jostling, and knocking shoulders without even apologizing at all. Rae bites her lip before giving a slow but clear nod of the head that tells me all I need to know.

"Do you want to speak with me about it? I promise my secrecy," she adds, winking at me.

"Alright fine but tell no one. When I got back home yesterday I took the elevator upstairs but something...odd happened. Like all of a sudden the elevator began to shake and I-I could hear the bolts falling down the elevator shaft. It was pitch dark with the exception of the little rectangular screen above the doors with the floor number on it."

I pause a moment, thinking about what to say next. "Then the number changed into letter and spelled out ghost in all capital letters and then once I cowered down it was like it hadn't happened and I began to think that it was my imagination but when I went to my room there was a message written in bright red paint."

Her emerald eyes jump to meet my gaze. A bead of sweat trickles down her forehead and I can practically see the gears turning over in her head as she processes everything I've just said. "What was the message?"

Leaning forwards, I whisper the answer into her ear and when I pull back she glances over at me, eyebrow raised in what can only be concluded as confusion. What is she confused about?

"Like symbol, with an S?" she asks as I shake my head.

"No, cymbal, like the musical instrument, that's what's the really weird part, why did whoever painted that on my wall use that spelling instead of the other, it would definitely make a hell of a lot more sense the other way."

We enter the front doors of our high school as Rae lowers her head, not responding. A minute or two pass while she's like this but suddenly she jumps up straight and looks at me with wide emerald eyes. "Perhaps that is their point Panic. They would not want you to understand this mystery they left, there must be more to it than meets the normal eye."

"You think?" I ask as she nods. "What could it possibly mean?"

She shrugs slightly, brushing a strand of black hair away from her face. "Ah, see, that is the mystery Panic. You must find out but those are the clues you'e been given, so work with them."

"Raven..." I say suddenly, not even sure what made me bring this up to begin with but now that its there, I feel I have to ask. "What happened while you were...there, in Asgard? You've been, different, like something happened."

Her eyes get cold and I can feel waves of cold radiating off her skin, she bites the inside of her cheek, I can tell from the way she has it puckered inward ever so slightly. "Nothing," I can feel the lie in her voice, that she made clear to the evidence of a lie. "Don't worry about it. I have everything under control," and with that she practically flies down the hallway, leaving me standing all alone in the hallways center.

As I open my locker door, I can't help but feel bad about Rae, maybe I shouldn't have brought it up but I can tell something happened there and it's bothering her more than she wants to admit. Something to do with her father, that much I can tell, but what exactly happened is a big black mystery splatter pattern on the records.

Maybe I'm just over thinking everything, that could be the case considering that the more I worry about Rae, the less I have to worry about my own personal problems going on, like this who Ghost issue which I still don't have a clue in hell as to what it means. Why would this enemy want anything to do with us, especially now.

There aren't any more skeletons hidden away in my closet, leaving me baffled and as a loss for words on what could be the possible reasoning for what any potential enemy could want. Unless the don't want something, rather some item, or piece, or even a person but if this enemy really wanted any of those why wouldn't they attack while they had access to the tower?

My thoughts are cut short by the ring of the warning bell. Closing my locker door I make a beeline down the hallway and towards my history classroom that is on the second floors and all the way on the other side of the building.


	5. Bleeding by the Thorn of a Rose

_Chapter Five: Bleeding by the Thorn of a Rose_

 ** _Here we go with chapter five of this amazing fourth installment of Panic's series and I also figured out an interesting way to go about this now and it's something I have heard before through comment but never did and so I think it'll work out great for the story. Anyways, be sure to favorite and leave comments._**

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Oliver and Sierra are bickering at each other from across the table, small jabs and snipes to edge the other one on and I'm almost at my wits end, all patience just about out the window. They're arguing about something that happened at their house, something about Sierra ratting Oliver out to their parents about ditching school one day last week to go to a rock concert.

Personally I never had any desire to just ditch school, it could just be because I find it a total breeze and others don't but hey, who am I to make such a generalization. Rae and I seem to have silently decided to forget what happened earlier when I asked her about what's been bugging her. She'll tell me eventually, when she's ready but I just wish I knew now so I could try and help her but there's nothing I can do.

I can't make Rae tell me if she doesn't want to and right now she doesn't and so I'll have to leave well enough alone which always was a problem for me, don't know why but it is. Maybe because I hate hearing the word no and leave it alone, must get my lack of patience from my dad, my mom was such a patient person who never snapped at a single soul, no matter what they did or said.

Sometimes I wish she'd passed more of that down to me but whatever, nothing can be done about it now, or at least until science figures out a way to genetically modify and pick character traits before the fetus is even fully developed. Really screwed up I think, picking out traits and genders of a baby before it's even born or perhaps conceived.

"Panic," I hear Sierra whine, nudging me. She and Oliver seem to have settled their little dispute and now she's decided to focus her attention on me. How long have I been lost in thought? Shaking the question away, I turn to face Sierra who's bright blonde hair is pinned back with bobby pins but curled in corkscrew curls that fall down her back.

"What?" she glances over as I raise an eyebrow at her.

"Raven's gonna be there..." she says in sing song, swaying her hips slightly and just from the slight was she moves tells me she's trying to convince me into doing something she knows I don't want to. Sighing, I run a hand through my hair before breaking my eyes away from hers.

"You're trying to get me to do something aren't you? What torture could you possibly intend to put me through Sierra?" I ask in monotone as she give a clearly fake laugh and wave it off. She leans in close to me, I can feel her breath against my skin and it's incredibly creepy, I have to resist the urge that gnaws away at me to just punch her out.

Not that I would of course but people in my personal space has never been a favorite thing of mine, I like keeping some distance when it comes to having friends because there are some things I'd rather not have super close to my face and that is another persons face.

"Come to the Homecoming dance with us, we can—"

"No."

She continues like I didn't speak at all. "Go as a group, don't have to worry about dates because why would we need any, and besides it's great for bonding with other human beings. Plus I know you don't want to be back at your house all day long, alone with your dad, Pepper, and baby brother Toby. Oliver mentioned that everyone that lives at your place would be out for the day."

"When is the stupid thing," my mouth sighs out, and she squeals in a high-pitch tune before thinking over what I asked.

"Two days from now, oh and you can totally dress to impress, high heels, a fancy dress, ooh and I can help with your hair and makeup. With you hair, there are so many hairstyle possibilities like—"

"On such short notice! I don't even have a dress to wear, don't own any high heels, it'll take hours to fix my hair even with you helping, and makeup well I don't do it very often," I rattle off the top of my head, not that I care whether or not I look presentable at this stupid dance that I don't even want to attend. Stress for me is already at an all time high right now and adding this dance to the list is not helping.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, I can work wonders with a curling iron, you're rich so getting a dress last minute shouldn't be a problem, and I'll help with your makeup."

I groan is annoyance. "There's gonna be so many people... I hate other humans, I'd rather be hulled up at Rae's place on a Friday night reading _War and Peace_ than going to social gatherings. My dad's a famous billionaire, I'm forced to go to a hell of a lot of public events, granted I usually hide out in one of the stalls in the girls bathroom but that's besides the point."

"You're coming, just say it. We both now you will," she sings, nudging me again as a smile flashes over her face and a sort of joy overtakes the rest of her features. How can she be happy all the damn time? Maybe I'm just not a happy enough person on normal day and that's why her overjoy is such an odd concept to me, it must get annoying to be that happy all the time.

Biting the inside of my lip I give in. "Fine..."

"Yes!" she squeals, Rae looks over at her, eyebrow raised in concern while Oliver who sits beside across from me just sighs, shaking his head in what I can only assume is embarrassment. Not that I blame him, Sierra's far to excited about roping me into attending a Homecoming Dance than she should be, it's not like it's that big of a deal, besides, eventually we'll old get old and forget about the details anyways.

"Hey Rae, wanna come over this weekend?" I asks suddenly, not realizing I said it until after the fact. She sets down a chocolate milk carton on the bright red plastic tray's provided by out school for carrying our lunch to the ridiculously long tables that for some reason, this school decided would be a good idea. Even buses can't compare in length to these tables.

"I do not know if that would be an appropriate thing to do at the moment, while I know your Aunt and Uncles apologized," we decided awhile back to just refer to the Avengers as distant family members in public. It got to hard trying to talk about them in public without revealing who they really are.

"About the incident that occurred awhile back but I feel as if I would be intruding. Especially now that you are at a point where you need to reconnect with your father and step-mother."

Just as I open my mouth to respond, the bell rings loudly overhead, cutting off anything I would have said. Rae, Oliver, and Sierra gather their trays and start towards the trashcan by the far wall of the cafeteria and I tell them I meet up with them later. I have to stop by my locker to get my Trigonometry textbook and binder which means I need more time to get there and head to my class.

Bringing a textbook to lunch, even though I don't eat at all during school hours, seems so weird and not all that normal, that's something I want to at least try thriving at, being normal and not dealing with the next worldly crisis for once. In the last two or three years that I've known my dad and lived with him, I haven't ever been normal.

From aliens, to gods, to soldiers, and spies, assassins, step-father, and all the other crap, I don't know how to be a normal seventeen year old. Next year I'm gonna be eighteen and have no idea what I'm gonna do with my life. I mean Dad graduated MIT at my age and I haven't even graduated high school, how pathetic must that be for him?

My fist slams into the locker, metal clanking so loud that I catch the eyes of other students clustering together in typical high school cliques. The cheerleaders by the staircase with the jocks by them, the nerdy kids by the science wing, and the hipsters by the bathroom like that's cool. _Standing by lockers is too mainstream, hey how about we stand by a bathroom where people piss and shit, yeah, great idea,_ I roll my eyes.

Pulling open my locker door, a red rose falls out and I catch it, looking down at it with not a single thought coming to my head about it. A rose, why is there a rose in my locker? Who would even... How would they even get into the... I shake my head, then my eyes fall on a folded sheet on notebook paper placed carefully on the floor of my locker, a note.

Setting down the rose I pick the note up, unfolding it the second my hands grasp the paper. It's folded about three times over and when I reach the last fold my blood turns to ice. In messy, all capitalized handwriting are ominous words scrawled onto the paper.

 _MEET ME AT THE FOOTBALL FIELD, BEHIND THE STANDS, Tuesday 2:00_


	6. Grin and Bear It

_Chapter Six: Grin and Bear It_

 ** _This is a chapter that I felt would be an interesting development in the public in relation to the Stark's as I often leave out the general public who would actually bug them all the time. I figured this would be a great way to have it revealed to the public about Toby and Panic trying to keep her cool while under the spotlight, plus she hasn't been seen in a press conference is awhile so yeah. Anyways be sure to favorite this story and leave comments_**

* * *

Camera's flash brightly and continuously throughout the crowd that's standing below the stage, stinging my eyes each time one goes off and the press conference hasn't even really started yet. Dad decided to call for one, not to actually talk about business production of Stark Industries but rather to speak about his life and new child Toby and of course I have to be here.

He stands behind a podium near the front of the stage but centered, I stand off to his right, about two steps over and three back. Pepper's standing behind the velvet red curtain waiting for her cue from Dad to step on stage with baby Toby wrapped up in his blanket, held in her arms. As I look out into the crowd I see someone in the crowd dressed in black.

It's a woman, that much I can tell as she is wearing a long, knee length back dress showing her curves, a veil cascades over her head and face, blurring it so I can't decipher what she looks like but but the feeling she gives me in the pit of my stomach I can assume it's not good. The woman reminds me of the Veiled Griever from _Pretty Little Liars_ on ABC Family.

A fake smile is plaster on my face that's painted up like a supermodel walking the red carpet, while wearing a lacy high-low dress, the high in the front and low in the back, of course. Skin around my neck, arms, and shoulders peaks through the lace that wraps over and around to connect with the back side of the dress. My lips are glossy cherry red, and my feet are killing me from the high heels Nat got me in.

Unlike my usual hair style, Nat pulled out a curling iron so instead my hair spray's been applied to keep my red hair cascading down in corkscrew curls that fall past my waist. Standing here before the eyes of the public, I feel like a glorified Barbie doll who'll go on sale or a stuck up model looking out among the peasants and I hate the feeling.

"As you know," Dad starts, patting down the jacket of his expensive black Armani suit then glancing up to look among the crowd, not pausing at Christine Everhart who stands among the crowd, her blond hair like a beacon. She's glaring daggers at me, that much I can tell. Especially after I embarrassed her at the last press conference, the one about... _Me._

The thought hits me like a ton of bricks and I literally have to hold myself up straight when I feel like leaning forward, nausea washes over me as the words spins around me. It feels like a thousand degrees on this stage, sweat is trickling down my forehead, my stomachs like rapid waters, I-I need to get away, get to the bathroom because I think I'm gonna hurl any minute.

On the outside I must appear calm, fully in control and fine but on the inside I'm still on the verge of vomiting. It feels like such a long time ago that we were here, him telling a crowd of people about me, his illegitimate daughter who barged into his life and flipped everything in his life upside down. Adding a troubled teenager to an already stressful life he and Pepper have together.

Ending up with Pepper having to take care of a kid that isn't even her responsibility and—and forcing Toby to have to share his dad with a girl who doesn't even share the same mother as him. I shouldn't think that way, I tell myself soundlessly in my head. _You know it's true._ It is not. _Yes it is, stop lying Panic, stop lying to yourself. I know it's true, as do you._ My mask slips, I can feel it, but not a single soul does, they're not looking at me.

No, their looking a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and now father Tony Stark who has their full attention, except for the woman in the veil who has her head angled towards me, she's watching me in curiosity. I put my mask back up, fix my smile back to the facade that it is and stand up straight like a good little model would as I try to keep myself from throwing up here on stage.

"I just became a father for the, I want to say first considering it's the first time I knew about it, but technically it's my second time as well as my first son and I'm incredibly nervous about it, but then again, most parents are I think. The thought of messing up is a very scary prospect, whether your twenty or forty, no one is ever really ready to be a parent."

My head is swimming and I feel like I'm fighting against a rapid river to keep my head above the surface to keep from going under, then the world begins to spin around like a fan, everything's a massive blur of faces and colors, nothing is clear or makes a bit of sense as the nausea hits me harder this time, nearly knocking me off my feet but I hold it together.

"—My beautiful wife Pepper," my vision focuses again as he motions to the curtain where she steps out in a black pencil skirt that she somehow still fits in even after gaining some baby weight. She wears a fancy dressy top with a creme colored jacket pulled over to match the similarly colored skirt. In her arms she holds baby Toby who's sleeping soundlessly.

Pepper's strawberry blond hair falls over her shoulder in lovely natural waves that frame her face, give her a pretty yet professional appearance that some people would kill for. My mother had that same type of aura about her, it's one of the few things they have in common. My mother wasn't a violet person by she could command a country with her voice.

She could look at someone in a certain way and they'd regret everything they'd done in the past or would spill all the details to my mother because that's the way she was. That's something else I wished I'd gotten from her because she could handle everything from her mother not approving of me, her unplanned child, to the awful deal life handed her and that's what made her amazing.

We struggled but she kept moving, kept going forwards, never giving up, never giving in, but just kept going and getting back up no matter how many times the world knocked her back down. Pepper has that same way and grace about her and it reminds me so much of my mother that it makes my chest ache from the sheer likeness of it.

"I'd like you all who came here today to meet my son Toby Xavier Stark," he takes the blanket wrapped baby from Pepper's arms and holds him so carefully like he's afraid he'll break into a million pieces just from the simplest of movements. Camera's flash at the baby, no one even paying any attention to me, I'm invisible, like I'm not even here. I don't matter, not anymore because Toby is the baby, the one the press wants to know about.

The baby of the power couple Tony and Virginia Stark who are living in their lavish tower in New York City with their billions of dollars and fancy vehicles and what am I? A mistake that got lucky enough to have her biological father feel enough pity for accidentally conceiving her when he'd preferably would've wanted to abort me if he found out back then.

Resisting the urge to shake my head to knock those ridiculous thoughts out of my head but suddenly it hits me. My eyes widen a moment before falling back to normal, that's actually an interesting question that I've never asked. If Dad had known about me back then, would he have wanted my mom to get an abortion so he wouldn't have to deal with me.

Dad pulls Pepper towards him as he kisses her in front of the camera's and I feel myself lurch, knowing what's gonna happen if I don't get the hell off this stage. I dart back behind the velvet curtain in my high heels, not sure if anyone even notice my hurried departure and barely manage to make it to the bathroom by the time I fall in front of the toilet and spew out food and stomach acid.

Everything's a blur as I shutter over each breath, when I finish puking my guts out, I sit on my butt with my back pressed against the wall of the stall and look up at the ceiling, wondering what my worth really is. Something I haven't done since I'd first met Tony all that time ago, what is my place, especially now that he has a son, a kid that he gets to raise that he has with the woman he actually loves.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Here we go with the end of this chapter and just so you all know, Panic won't go all the way back to her roots where she didn't think she was worth anything but she will be questioning her value, not only to herself but to Tony and Pepper as she tries to figure things out with these enemies, but anyways, tell me what you think of this side of Panic.**_


	7. Woman in the Veil

_Chapter Seven: Woman in the Black Veil_

 ** _Here is chapter seven with picks up just a little bit after chapter six at the Press Conference about baby Toby Stark, anyways this chapter will really start the plot progression and if Panic's been a bit boring, I blame it on her high school adventures. Be sure to favorite this story and leave comments on what you think or want to happen._**

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I stumble out from the bathroom stall, trying to ignore the trembling of my leg that I'm afraid with collapse from under me, now that would be embarrassing, not that anything worse could happen. Literally, I ran off the stage like a bat out of hell during Dad's press conference, his must be pissed or at least Pepper will be, Dad's unpredictable so I'm not positive on how he'll react.

Pepper will be furious, at least until I explain my reason for bailing during the press conference that is, she'll probably let it go after that but still, it's a brewing storm that I'll have to settle before the real wind picks up. Splashing a handful of water on a towel, carefully wiping my face with it, and examine my face in the mirror, making sure I don't look like I've been throwing up.

Satisfied with my appearance, I turn towards the swinging door of the restroom, nudging the door open with my foot, and step out into a very grand, expensive hallway line with the sort of artwork that'd be displayed in a Gala instead of a long slender hallway by the restrooms. Out of the corner of my eyes I see the faint outline of the black veil of the woman in the crowd.

Taking a left where I saw the woman rather that right, which leads back around to the stage and the backstage behind it where Dad and Pepper are probably waiting with... _it_. Rounding the corner I see the flow of the back of her dress as she disappears behind another wall, I hurry after her in my high heels, pissed at Pepper for tricking me into wearing them in the first place.

Just as I reach the area the woman walked past, I see a heavy metal exit door swing shut, banging loudly against the frame attaching it to the building, bouncing a few times before finally closing for real. Not for long though because soon I throw the door back and step out into a shabby alley with spray painted wall with profanity written across in deep blue.

The woman stands, her back facing me and the door as a gentle breeze brushes by, blowing my dress and her skirt along with it. She stands straight, she about a inch or two taller than me, up close I realize that under the veil is some type of black fabric, I assume it's to hide her hair from everyone else around her in case they need to identify her.

"Who are you, what do you want?" I ask, closing my hands into a fist at my side, just in case this takes a turn bad.

The woman laughs lightly, using one of her hands to muffle the sound slightly before letting her giggles fall away and her tone taking a more serious ring to it. "I don't have much time, so I'll say this quickly. Stay away from this, keep out of the brewing trouble, keep yourself safe and overlook any clues and evidence you find, it'll be better if you do."

I raise an eyebrow at her, her voice sound familiar but I can't quite place it but the cord it strikes feel like something close to me, buried deep in myself. "Wait, what are you saying?"

"Time's up, stay safe Panic," she throws down two small dark, round balls which explode and a plume of dust erupts around her, enveloping her and me in the smoke but once it clears, I realize that she made a getaway. Why would she warn me about staying out of this? If she's the enemy, wouldn't she want me in the fight so that I get hurt? It doesn't make any sense.

Just as I'm about to throw in the towel and re-enter the building, I see something that catches my attention. On the ground is a square sheet of paper, when I pick it up it is thicker than most. Flipping it over I realize why, it's a business card and while I don't know whether or not she meant to leave it but I do know it may be the key leading to the answers taunting me.

 _Dr. Christopher Quinn_

 _Plastic Surgeon_

 _555-0472-8924│ChristopherQ_ _│512 Madison Avenue, New York City, New York_

Slipping the business card into my pocket, I make a mental note to get Rae to use her teleporting powers to get us there so I can speak to this surgeon and ask about this woman in the veil. I don't know if Raven will agree to take me or not though, she's been a little different lately, I can't understand her without knowing what happened at Asgard over the summer.

Obviously that's what's bothering her but she doesn't want to talk about her and I can't blame her, when something happens to me, I just need time to mule it over by myself, to understand it better, but I hate not being able to help her when I know she's struggling with whatever this is. However, I have to respect her wishes and keep my nose out of it until she tells me herself.

My main question is what does a plastic surgeon have to do with this? Obviously I know what they do as a career but how that applies to the unknown threat emerging is beyond me. I know I should tell Dad, or one of the other Avengers at the very least because they have a right to know but I'm gonna visit this Dr. Quinn guy before saying anything to anyone.

"Panic!" I hear my dad's voice from inside the building, close to the door where I stepped out of. Slipping the card into my pocket, I pause when I see a number scrawled on the back in messy handwriting. _$165,000.00_

My eyebrows pinch together at the number, that's a lot of money. Especially considering it's written on the back of a business card, something isn't right here, but what is the main problem. Hearing the heavy metal door to the building creak loudly, I know Dad's about to step through in a matter of seconds so I slip the card into the pocket inside my dress and turn, stepping towards the door.

Instead of seeing Dad like expected, Pepper stands there instead, baby Toby held tightly in her right arm, left on the door, propping it open but clearly struggling to do so. Stepping forward, I grab the door, holding it open as I slip back inside.

"Hey, are you okay?" Pepper asks, tilting her head slight, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder and for a moment everything feels the way it used too, at least until Toby begins crying, his face flushing a deep crimson shade only seconds following. Tear drip down his faces, soaking the blue blanket with each tear that falls on it.

"Shoot! I'll be right back okay?" Pepper asks, she doesn't wait for my response and scurries off to the bathroom I assume to take care of Toby and once again, I'm all alone and have no idea what I'm supposed to do next. Toby's the prized apple and I'm just the almost eighteen year old who has no idea what she wants to do with her life after high school.

In the midst of everything going on like a whirlwind, I still have no idea what I want to do in my future, I can't be a superhero, not really a great career choice, plus I'll need to be able to support the Panic Stark Domestic Trauma Foundation I started over the summer because I doubt Dad will still be giving me an allowance once I turn eighteen, he'll probably save it as a future fund for baby Toby.

So Toby can do this and that and go to an Ivy League college, buy his own football team or whatever because it's a 'guy thing', I roll my eyes, more to myself than for anyone else considering I'm all alone, plus, there's still that note burning a hole in the back of my mind. Meet behind the football stands after school... I blow out a breath of air, keep it together Panic.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Okay so I know I haven't mentioned this foundation Panic started but trust me, I have something coming up that will explain it, on the one year anniversary of "A Girl Named Panic" on June 16th there will be a longish one-shot type thing that takes part of the universe during nine months I skipped in Pepper's pregnancy which will tell all.**_


	8. Far Away From Home

_Chapter Eight: Far Away From Home_

 ** _Here we go with the next chapter, so this is sort of a throw back to "In the Line of Fire, Panic" as it has a scene from chapter 22 that I've updated, so that's why it may seem different but trust me, there's some new information in there and it's gonna lead somewhere. Anyways, be sure to favorite this story and leave comments on what you think._**

* * *

 **Flashback:**

 _Mom sits on a long, snow colored bench on the porch of an elderly woman's house, her straight red hair's tied back in a high ponytail, she wears knee length shorts and a plain white T-Shirt. Beside her, an older lady with curly platinum colored hair dressed in a polka-dot dress sits. They are huddled close, whispering to each other in hushed tones. By the look on Mom's face, I can tell she's really frustrated with the elderly lady whom she shares an eye color with._

 _I dart around to the side of the two-story tan house in the suburbs, not caring an ounce about the healthy green grass crushed beneath my hand-me-down tennis shoes Mom got from the thrift shop for about a dollar. As I near the left side of the house, I get down on my hands and knees by a fully blooming Holly-berry bush, fully intending to listen in on their conversation._

 _"Honestly Vanessa, how could you go through with it!?"_

 _"Through with what mother?" M_ _om growls out, her teeth gritted as she narrows her eyes at the other woman who I don't even know her name. She's never spoken to me, not once, and Mom has only ever brought me here about two times in my life._

 _"Giving birth to that—that...! " the other woman trails off, leaving me confused for a moment until suddenly an unsettling feeling falls over me, one that I don't understand why I'm feeling it._

 _"What? Bastard, is that what you were gonna say Mother!?" Mom shouts at the older woman in her mid-forties, who I now know is my grandmother who never seems to take any interest in me._

 _"Yes! That child there is going to need a father figure and she isn't going to have one because of your own stupidity Vanessa,She is what will ruin your life Vanessa, don't say I didn't warn you... Your brother Alex wouldn't have gotten himself into this sort of mess."_

 _"If you haven't forgotten mother, Alex is a boy so no, he couldn't have gotten pregnant himself, but he could have knocked a girl up and walked out on her without even telling you your Majesty!" she snaps, a condescending tone in her words._

 _"Your brother is a great, amazing man who would never do such a thing, I think you know that as well as I and besides, he might still..." just as my_ _elusive grand-mother_ _speaks, Mom cuts her off._

 _"No he won't! You only think that because you like him better because was the golden child of the family. He got the grades, he was a people person, he was this, he was that, but you know what it's pretty sad that my daughter isn't going to have a father but it baffles me that you, of all people, would prefer that I would have aborted her. I'm sorry but I thought most grandparents loved their grandchildren!"_

 _"Most do but not when the world is falling apart and her husband is in the hospital in a coma and will possibly die and maybe if when you conceived her, her father was a no-name—but he's not and considering who her father is..."_

 _"Don't!" M_ _om warns, rising to her feet._

 _"She'd be better off if you would have aborted her like I said because you know that with her father being at the highest high of the social latter and you, us, she being at the bottom of the social scale, he'll never approve of her and he'll never love her like a father would because she is a mistake."_

 _"We're never coming back here, if you don't like my daughter then I don't like you. Panic! Lets go, right now."_

 _Running back around to the other side of the house, I dart around the fancy flowers poking out of the ground and once I slip past the large trellis mounted against the side of the house, stop just in sight and look up at my mom whose eyes are narrowed with anger. She takes my wrist and leads me to her rusty old Sedan, the silver paint is chipped and the holes in the tires are patched with old duct tape._

 _Mom put my seat belt on in a haste and closes the door, stomping around to the drivers side and gets in, slamming the door loudly behind her._ _She puts the car in drive and the car pulls forward._

 _"Mommy," I say, after the silence in the Sedan has dragged on for long enough to make my knee bounce up and down like a basketball on the court. A questions been swirling on the tip of my tongue since she told me to get in the car but I'm afraid of what she'll say, if she'll be mad at my asking. She glances over a second before her eyes shift back to the road._

 _"What's the matter baby, are you alright?" Mom asks, her voice soft and sweet, like how I've always heard it from her, but it didn't sound like that back at my grandmother's house. Shaking my head, I look out the window watching the trees fade into a blur of green. Tear well up in my eyes, my throat feels full, like something is stuck and making it harder to breath._

 _"D-Does Grandma hate me?" I blurt out suddenly, even surprising myself at the sheer bluntness of it to begin with. I had to ask her, needed to know because if that's the reason her mom doesn't like her, I don't want her to not see her mom because of me._

 _"What?" Mom's voice skyrockets in pitch, like she's shocked at my asking. "What grandmother, we've never met your grandmother."_

 _"You're lying, I heard you and her, the woman on the porch, she's your mother, you said so, you confirmed it. She hates me doesn't she, why, d-did I do something wrong?" I look up at her, hating the warm tears the drip down my cheeks like a river._

 _"Honey, you didn't do anything wrong okay, she's just, my mother isn't such a nice person. I-I only lied to you about who she is because I didn't ever want you to take anything she said to heart because she's wrong about everything. Please understand Panic, and don't believe a single world that wicked old bat said because it isn't true."_

 _"Why does she hate me then, there must be a reason," I reply, wiping the tears from my face as Mom pulls the Sedan into an empty parking lot. She turns the car off and scoots around to face me, crossing her legs to sit down on the seat to face me. Mom shakes her head sadly, before looking up at me and cupping my face with her soft hands.  
_

 _"You weren't planned and your grandmother is a very old school sort of woman and that's why. It's not because of you, you never did anything wrong and if she doesn't want to know you then it's her loss," Mom smiles down at me, leaning forward and kisses my forehead softly, brushing my red hair out of my face before starting the engine of the car and driving us away.  
_

* * *

 **Present Day:**

I don't know what brought that memory to mind but it could be the woman sitting across the park who is staring at me with such an intense gaze you'd think I was a long lost 5th cousin or something. Shaking my head, I sigh, brushing a strand of hair out of my face as I turn the business card over and over again in my hand, still trying to understand why the woman in the veil had this on her.

Suddenly, I realize that they elderly woman is now seated beside me, a white shawl pulled over a vintage black and white polka-dot dress that looks like it's from the forties. Her gray hair's curt short and she has eyes that strike a feeling in me but I decide to ignore it, scooting further away from her on the bench, as I try to keep my thoughts away from Toby, and Pepper and Dad and their little family unit.

"You're Panic, Panic Stark. Am I correct?" the woman asks me, glancing over I stare, and nod slowly before responding.

"Yes, but that depends on who's asking. You got a name stranger?" I reply, keeping a semi-polite yet still heavily guarded defense against this person who still awakens a feeling of something inside me. Her eyes are familiar. "Do I know you?" I ask suddenly.

"Maybe, but I wouldn't be offended if you didn't after all, I wasn't the greatest grandmother in the world you know," she replies and it hits me like a brick. Those green eyes, the ones my mother had. "It's great to see you again Panic."


	9. Scattered Ashes

_Chapter Nine: Scattered Ashes_

 ** _Here we go, the next chapter and I think you're all gonna like this one as it has a little friendship-y moment between Panic and Natasha Romanoff which hasn't really been seen since the first chapter. I'm gonna have Panic call her out on it so tell me what you think of this and of Panic's grandmother being around. Favorite and comment below!_**

* * *

After running into my Grandmother Val at the park, I nearly bolted the second she confirmed it and my brain took a second to process what she just uttered but I told her I wasn't ready to talk to her right now so she gave me a phone number to call and meet up with her some place to talk once I get my head wrapped around this so I agreed and she wrote it down on a pink sticky note.

Dad and Pepper took Toby along for the ride with them as they attend another type of meeting with an interviewer from _People Magazine_ to discuss their new lives now that they have a baby in the house and about what they felt the first time they saw and got to hold him and all that other annoying crap that just digs into my nerves like someone took a drill to them.

Sitting alone on the couch in the living room, the TV off, and not a single sound can be heard as I rest my head on my hands which are being supported by my elbows that are seriously digging into my knees. My mind's a whirlwind of thoughts swirling around so fast that if they existed in the real world, a carousel wouldn't have shit on it in anyway, shape or form.

"You look like a girl whose got a lot on her mind," Nat's voice sounds behind me, I nearly jump a foot in the air and spin around, no longer sitting down, facing Nat who stands casually behind the couch, arms relaxed at her side. Her auburn hair falls in natural curls around her chin, she wears a black V-neck shirt with a white leather jacket pulled over it. Her green eyes are focused solely on me, not straying to anything else she could be focusing on.

Giving a reluctant laugh, I respond. "I guess you could say that."

"Wanna talk about it? I'm all ears y'know," Nat replies, walking around the couch and sitting down on the cushion beside the one that I originally sat on before she nearly gave me a heart attack. Narrowing my eyes, I bite back a mocking snort.

"Why would I want to tell you anything about what's going on, the rolling dumpster fire that is my life when you're barely even around. Honestly, I sometimes think that you actually go out of you way to use your amazing spy skills to get the hell away from me," I reply, sarcasm and bitter anger that I've long suppressed slicing through each word.

She tilts her head slightly as if analyzing the tone in my voice, calculating the best method to proceed with to keep me from completely erupting like Mount St. Helens when she broke her top. "I'm sorry if you feel that way but I haven't been avoiding you and you don't have to take that tone about it, I was trying to be nice."

"I didn't ask for your help! As if it isn't bad enough to be dealing with Pepper, Tony, and their precious little baby Toby _who looks so adorable, look at is puffy whittle face, ooh_ ," I reply, mocking Pepper and Dad's tone when they speak to Toby in dumb baby voices. "There's a lot going on and even before when I needed you by my side, you choose S.H.I.E.L.D. over me the first time and then you pretty much call my best friend a monster to society, and now this!"

I give a frustrated groan, shaking my head and pulling at my hair so hard I think I might pull out my hair. "Why I haven't been committed to some damn asylum is beyond me. I feel like a crazy person living in this tower full of—! And all the insanity of being in this 'family'" I add air quotes around that. "Brings, plus, after running into her at the park after all these years, I-I just c-can't—"

Dropping down to the ground, I pull my knees to my chest as my heart pounds and the world sounds so much louder than anything I've ever heard before. Nothing makes sense an I feel like a million bees are buzzing around through all my limps and in my stomach, especially around my heart. I can't catch my breath and my body trembles like an earthquake.

"Panic!" Nat drops to her knees and take one of my wrists in her hand. "Look up! Look at me Panic okay, don't think about anything else just focus on me. You're having a panic attack."

Glancing up at her, I focus on that, not on the hell I'm living in or Pepper and Dad and Toby, or Raven and her secretive aura, or this woman in the black veil, or the phone number from Grandmother Val, or the business card. "Ironic huh? The girl with the name Panic suffering a panic attack. Life's a bitch..." I sigh out once I managed to catch my breath.

"Panic, are you feeling better?" she asks, her voice low and I can hear the hurt in her voice. Something I know she isn't trying to hide, probably to make me feel bad for saying what I said.

"I-I know that I left you after Fury decided to move us from the tower, and I know I haven't been around so much as a normal friend would, but there's a lot of things that have been going on and I'm sorry, but the real question is, why do you care so much?"

Pulling my arm back, I glare at her. "You don't get it do you, you really don't know anything about me. Sure we didn't know each other for that long when we first met and during the time of what was the most prominent time in our so-called friendship and maybe it didn't mean as much to you as it did for me so why bother explaining when you don't really care to begin with."

She stares at me a moment, before holding out her hands to help me up. "Maybe your wrong, I do want to know why our friendship means so much to you Panic, I don't have a lot of friends, until the Avengers Initiative at least. Clint was my closest friendship, so what do you see?"

Reluctantly, I take her hand and she helps me to my feet and I slap my hands against my jeans before stepping back and facing Nat. "I'm used to being abandoned, left for dead, and completely alone. I learned to put walls up and not let anyone in and because of that, I have to deal with a lot of issues but once I let someone in they stay there, forever."

She watches me intensely, seemingly focused on what I'm saying and I press on without hesitation.

"And then y-you left! You left me and never called or text or even cared enough to check in after I confided to you about my secrets and you left me here without even a goodbye and then the next time I see you is after a kidnapping! Like that's all I'm good for, helping you and the other Avengers out like a damn sidekick and you never said so much a words hardly beside trying to tell me what I can and can't do!"

I'm fuming now but try to keep myself in control. "And now, here you are, playing good Samaritan to the girl downtrodden by the world and you wonder why I don't want to talk to you about this. What happens after, 'sorry Panic, I have more important things to deal with besides you, I'm a superhero after all an you're just a nobody'," I mutter the last part, pushing past her, and dart up the stairs, barely hearing Nat call my name.


	10. The Mysterious Messenger

_Chapter Ten: The Mysterious Messenger_

 ** _Here we go with the next chapter, this one takes will begin in to unravel a few little things and the plot should really pick up now so get ready for craziness that will eventually come. Be sure to favorite this story and leave comments and suggestions on things you'd like to see in the future, now read on!_**

* * *

Natasha Romanoff never followed me to try to talk to me after yesterday but I've been avoiding her too though, having JARVIS tell me where she is and when she's coming into the living room or is in the elevator so I know when to take the stairs instead. Like today, after sneaking out of the tower early this morning, I seriously go to school at like exactly six in the morning.

Living in that tower is like living on top of a pool table, except I'm the one side-stepping all the others on the same green fabric table top. The school day dragged on with the thought of the note weighing down all my thoughts, I have to go to the football field after school and meet this stranger behind the bleachers but I don't want to go alone so I've asked Rae to come with me, using her powers to be invisible.

She and I still haven't talked much since the last incident between us but I haven't had the chance to ask her to help me with this business card I found back in the alleyway but I still fully intend to do. We've just been really busy with Sierra bustling us around like those spinning teacups at amusement parks, the ones that spin like a Ferris Wheel but so much faster.

As the final bell rings, Rae meets me by my locker, she seems tired. Emerald eyes troubled, dark circles under them, her hair falls down over her shoulder in straight black locks. She wears a black corset top with lace over the shoulders and arms, her jeans are a faded gray color, and she wears a pair of black combat boots with green shoes laces.

Her lips are bright scarlet from the glossy lipstick she's wearing and her eyes are lined in dark cat style eyeliner, with smokey eye shadow to give her a much darker appearance. Throwing my school supplies in my locker, I close the door, and start down the heavily crowded hallway bustling with fellow students, Rae falls into step beside me.

Icy wind whistles past, blowing my hair around in a whirlwind of red hair, obscuring my vision of the football field just down the hill adjacent from the high school building. "Rae, I'm sorry about pushing you to tell me what's bothering you. I'm just worried about you and I know it's not my business but you've been so troubled lately and I just wanted to help."

She sighs, running a hand over her face. "I know you are Panic, but the thing is that I am not ready to discuss it. I am still struggling with it myself, when I was in Asgard, I found out some things about my father that I was not aware were true and am struggling with what I learned and saw. When I feel comfortable with it, I will tell you first, promise."

Nodding, I motion for her to get ready and as she slips behind tree to use her powers while I proceed to the bleachers, slipping underneath the seats and make my way underneath the dark depths of the secret society beneath them. Blue spray painted profanity lines the brick wall that braces the bleachers, it's dark and the dirt's wet, not quite mud by still sticky and nasty and even though Rae's invisible, I can still feel her presence at my side.

Stepping deeper into the cave that apparently resides behind the stands to the football field, I stop right in the middle between both sides of the entryways to the back of the stands. A dark silhouette of a male figure appears at the other end of the stands opening and slowly edges forward until they stand close enough for me to tell that this person is nearly a whole head taller than me with broad shoulders.

A light fixture flickers to light, coating us all in an ugly glow that makes even the dirt below my feet look like a character from _The Walking Dead_ and it's not even a living thing. Before me stands the last person I was expecting, not someone that would appear to be an evil master mind, no, instead stands a boy with messy dark brown hair wearing a black and yellow Letterman jacket.

Logan Montgomery, quarterback of our high school football team and one of the most popular boys in school due to his sports endeavors while I'm popular because Tony Stark's my father. He met me here so he must have sent the note but the reason still remains, why, I don't think he's apart of this whole conflict transpiring right now so it must be something else entirely.

"Are you the one who slipped this note in my locker?" I ask, waving the folded note in front of me before letting my hand drop down to my side as I wait for him to respond. He hesitates, his hazel eyes aimed away from me before darting up to me my gaze.

"Yeah, I wanted to ask you something," he explains, shrugging slightly. "Figured it'd be best to ask you in private instead of putting you on the spot in front of a bunch of people. Maybe behind the football bleacher sounded sort of ominous, not my smartest suggestion."

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes in annoyance at his lack of an actual answer like I'd asked for, instead I keep my annoyance in check and keep myself calm. "Alright, so what was it you wanted to ask me Montgomery because if I don't get going soon my dad's gonna start to wonder where I'm at."

So the last part's a lie, but it's not like he would know that anyways, Dad and Pepper haven't been all that concerned about where I am lately anyways so being a few hours late from getting home after school really wouldn't concern them all that much. He doesn't seem to notice the lie, probably because I'm used to lying to people so anyone who doesn't really know me that well isn't able to tell when I'm dishonest.

"The Homecoming dance is coming up soon and I wanted to ask if you'd go with me, it wouldn't be a thing if you didn't want it to be but I—" he stutters as I raise an eyebrow in confusion. Why would Logan Montgomery want me to go to Homecoming with him out of all the girls here who'd be tripping of their stupid high heels to be his date to this trivial event?

As if the question had been written across my forehead he answer right away, waving his hands around like a stop-motion animation with Barbie dolls, you know, the ones with the joints.

"I've seen you a lot in the hallway and you seem like a pretty chill girl, not the type to cling on my arm and giggle at everything I say even if it's not funny like the cheerleaders, especially Kristy Webs, she's been trying to get me to ask her since Freshman year and still doesn't get the message."

"What am I supposed to do, keep her from getting anywhere near you because I'm not really up for guard duty," I respond, my voice void of emotions as I keep a neutral expression. I'm not really thrilled about the idea of going to Homecoming in general but the idea of having to ward off some preppy, snobby cheerleader girl makes me want to punch Logan in the face for even asking me to begin with.

He shakes his head immediately after I say that. "No, no, no. That's not why I'm asking but that would be a benefit as she'd leave me alone if I went with someone but you're pretty and really cool from what I've seen and been told. I'd like to get to know you better. So what do you say?"

Deciding I'd rather not waste my time by saying no and having to explain why I said that, I decide to agree and go with him anyways, even though I've heard he's kind of a jerk, but if he tries anything, I won't hesitate to kick his ass.

"Fine," is what I respond, only half listening to him after that, if he's not the person trying to attack me then who is? Someone's planning something and I still have no idea what it is or even why to begin with.


	11. Deadly Shadow Bringer

_Chapter Eleven: Deadly Shadow Bringer_

 ** _Here's we go again, the next chapter of Panic's series with an actual view from another side of the playing field, so get ready for the drama, I have a lot of things planned for the future. Be sure to favorite and leave comments on what you like and think and now, get reading!_**

* * *

 **Third Person POV:**

 _As she slips into the office, closing the door silently behind her, the woman in the veil turns, her attention focusing on the black leather chair seating her commander and leader of this particular HYDRA base placed in an undisclosed location to the rest of the world. Three screens are mounted to the wall behind the desk which the chair is facing, a large flat screen in the center and two smaller ones placed just above the other._

 _Clips from the Battle of New York play on the larger screen while the other two play the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. as the Helicarriers go down in flames, it was a major loss for HYDRA intell but while HYDRA did prevail, it is known by most that S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't fallen quite like they all had originally hoped, nonetheless, they will succeed or so they tell her over and over again._

 _In a flash, the screen all flash from these battles to Panic Stark, each different times and places, the newest feed on the larger screen. Her and a friend with black hair and green eyes crossing the Football field at her high school, heading towards the metal stands. The video feed is jagged and bouncing in and out of focus but she can still tell what's going on._

 _The loud echoing of tapping feet fills the eerily silent room as they watch the screen in silence, the woman in the veil tapping her index finger against her thigh with each passing second. Before she realizes it, the person in the chair stands up, revealing none other than Obadiah Stane, his eyes are cold, void of any sort of emotion, he looks the way he did back in 2008 somehow._

 _"Ghost just contacted me only moments before you arrived, he's gotten word from the higher ups," he explains, waiting for the veiled woman's nod of under-standing before continuing explaining what he means._

 _She nods her head in less than a second after his motion to nod but speaks out before he can continue his long winded explanation. "I know I'm not supposed to interrupt you while you are speaking Sir, but exactly how high up are we talking about here, like Strucker or..." she trails off, knowing that Obadiah understands what and more specifically who she's referring too._

 _"Even higher up than Strucker so this order might as well be law, it's in the first chapter of HYDRA's handbook, right after S.H.I.E.L.D. is dangerous and needs to be taken out. She's getting too close, nosy, Panic needs to be stopped, one way or another."_

 _"Don't hurt the girl Obadiah, I know you're considering it but that would be a terrible move on your part, one that will surely tip the Avengers off and we don't want that, not yet at least" the woman replies, trying to keep her tone void and emotionless. "Perhaps instead of sending **her**... in we could maybe uh... Show Panic what she's dealing with, scare her enough to back away from this."_

 _Nodding slowly Obadiah laughs. "You would say that, always such a kindhearted spirit, seems to me you're in the wrong business Doll. But you have a point, HYDRA would rather not want to waste the resources to eliminate her and have to get rid of the body, plus, she could be an asset to HYDRA. We'll scare her away and if not, far more drastic measures will have to be taken."_

 _"Understood Sir, one question though," the veiled woman said, waiting as Obadiah turns, he eyes locking on her, motioning for her to go ahead and speak. "How is he?"_

* * *

 **Panic's POV:**

Sitting across from Rae on her purple bedspread, I decide to tell her about my conversation with Nat last night, wanting to get another opinion on the situation and she listens intently, nodding every so often, waiting patiently until I've finished speaking before stepping into to give me a little bit of her own thoughts of the matter at hand.

"Honestly Panic, I understand where you are coming from but I know you and you probably spoke out about what you felt and fled without even hearing her side of the story or what your words meant to her. You tend to run away from your troubles, afraid they will be worse than what you have already imagined. You really should speak to her and listen instead," Rae replies, looking back down at her laptop which shines brightly against her face.

Tilting my head side to side like I'm thinking over her words, I sigh, running my hands over my face, already knowing she's right and that I need to hear Nat out. "You're right, I know you are but t-there's one more thing and I-I just don't know what to do about it."

Rae glances up at me, an eyebrow raised, motioning for me to continue, so I do.

"I was at the park yesterday, before my conversation with Nat and when I was there, I started thinking about this one time, the last time my mom took me to visit some woman who barely spoke to me, when I found out that the woman was my grandmother who didn't want to know me. Across the park in another bench I saw an older woman. It was my Grandma Val."

Widening her eyes, Rae sits up a little straighter. "I was not even away that you had any grandparents whatsoever."

"I know on Dad's side I don't, they died in a car wreck before I was even conceived, 1991 was the year I think the wreck was in. Dad hadn't even met my mother back then but Obadiah Stane knew her very well which is still pretty freaky to think about," I trail off, forgetting that I never told Raven who that was, just focusing on how I learned they were close because of his friendship with her brother.

"Who?" she asks, interest still at an all time high, but suddenly I begin to wonder what she's got pulled up on the laptop, thinking over the way her face occasionally twitched as her eyes scanned over what was on the page. Pushing the question to the back of my mind, I press forward as I try to keep the question there, and begin to explain what happened with him.

"Obadiah was Howard Stark's business partner and was in control of Stark Industries before Dad took over when he turned twenty-one. Turned out he's an evil son of a bitch who planned Dad's kidnapping in Afghanistan and was selling weapons in the black market and to an evil terrorist organization."

"Oh," she nods, before staring at me a moment. "Continue, what about this grandmother you seem to not have an incredibly close civil relations. We got sidetracked by other former events."

"S-she gave me a phone number, wanted to to call and meet up with her to talk an for her to explain some things and bond or something like that but I'm not so sure I'm really comfortable or even ready for that. I mean, she told my mom that I would ruin her life and am a mistake that she should've taken care of and that Dad would never care about me."

"Panic, I can provide as much wisdom as possible on certain fields but when it comes to family relations, I am the worst person to be speaking too, have you not seen my personal relations with my own father, we are not even in speaking contact and sometimes I dislike him so intensely I think it may be sheer hate," Rae's voice dips lowering a few octaves, sounding softer than her earlier words.

That catches my attention, obviously connecting the dots. "Rae, don't get mad, but does that have something to do with what happened in Asgard. Did you learn some stuff about—"

She cuts me off. "Yes, lets just leave it at that for right now Panic. I learned some odd things about some people and now I am trying to understand reality but we're discussing your conflicts. Be careful though Panic, I have a bad feeling swirling in the pit of my stomach, have since the moment you told me about the elevator, I think something much bigger is going on here."

"Me too Rae, I just hope it's not as bad as my gut's telling me it is," I say, staring out the window of her room, into the darkening world on the other side of the glass and watch the bright moon shifting into a lone spot in the starless sky.


	12. Between the Dividing Lines

_Chapter Twelve: Between the Dividing Lines_

 ** _Welcome once again to another chapter, this one should be kind of interesting so be prepared and plus dual vision between Panic and Rae so there's that to look forwards to. As always, make sure to favorite this story and leave comments on what you liked and what your own personal theories are because that's always fun to hear about._**

* * *

 **Raven's POV:**

 _A woman treads down a darkened street alone, lacy black veil shining against the light fixtures above. Rain pours downs around her, soaking the woman in the black dress from head to toe. Her heels click loudly against the concrete as she stops in front of an old, rundown apartment building with walls made of faded red bricks and slowly starts up the small stairway towards the door._

 _She leans down, lifting the corner edge of a bright green doormat in front of the doorway, and reaches underneath it and feels around for something until finally pulling out a shiny metal key. The map drops and the woman steps into the building, the door obviously not locked like it should be, the scene changes to the woman standing in the elevator just as the door opens._

 _Walls that line the hallways are cracked and crumbling in on themselves as the roof is moldy and dips from the amount of rain water contained within them but the woman doesn't seem to notice or does not care in the least about it. As she rounds the hallways, she lifts her hand that holds the key and stops in front of a lone door at that end of the building._

 _ **Apartment 4D** is the only writing and type of indication that can been seen near the doorway leading a clue to the location as the woman dressed in black puts the key in the lock and turns the key a few times before pulling it loose, and nudging the door so it swings open._

I bolt upwards in my bed, glancing around in the hazy darkness of night, trying to process what just occurred in my dream but am fully aware that that was not a dream but a current event. Something that has happened or is currently happening. From time to time I get flashes of things, either the past, current events, and rarely but it does happen, the future.

Suddenly, a thought crosses my mind about the dream or vision I suppose I should say instead. The woman in a black dress and veil must be the woman that Panic saw after the press conference with her parents. Whatever resides behind that closed door must be important and it is unfortunate that I was unable to see what was inside but I will have to inform Panic of it.

She will of course obsess over it and will eventually decide that she must find the location and discover what it is that has been hidden in this apartment complex somewhere around the world. Must been in New York at least, based upon all the blurry brightly lit signs as she walked down the sidewalk, probably an older section of town as no one was outside.

* * *

 **Panic's POV:**

Oliver and I sit in together in the cafeteria before the bell that dismisses us to class, just chatting. Sierra's apparently been sidelined by the flu and has been driving him nuts by complaining about how she can't afford to be sick with the Homecoming dance right around the corner. Rae's still not here which surprises me, she called to tell me she'll be a bit late but this is odd, even for her.

"Sierra is driving me insane, one more complaint about being sick, and I'm gonna loose my mind," Oliver replies, leaning back against the table, resting his legs over the empty chair on the table across from him.

Glances over at him, I bite back a snicker. "That's your biggest struggle, the world is coming to an end."

He raises an eyebrow at me, grinning at me mischievously. "Oh trust me it is, that woman could talk your ears off, they'll bleed a river first, then you'll just be deaf because of her. I've started putting my ear buds in when she's distraction and just sort of nod along and vaguely murmur responses as if I actually have a clue what she's talking about."

"Does this mean we still have to go to that dance if she's not gonna—" Oliver cuts me off before I finish the question, already knowing and fully expecting the answer he gives in return.

"Yes," he shakes his head a little sadly. "Sierra'll go even if she has to carry around a large gray bucket with a sign on the side saying: 'do not spill' with protecting plastic covering her dress. There's no way we're getting out of this one Panic, trust me, my sisters a crazy person, you're better off hoping you're struck by lightning than Sierra not dragging us to this school event."

"Damn, I'd hoped that her sickness would get us out of this mess, I guess I'll just have to break some bone in my body instead," I reply, obviously a joking tone in my voice but suddenly, something flashes across Oliver's eyes but is gone before I can determine what it was. He gets serious and glowers at someone behind me that I am unable to see.

Glancing over my shoulder, I see Logan standing there, stationary, glaring back at Oliver in the same way, but with more malice and disdain with some sort of conversation passing between the two that I can't decipher. Logan breaks the look, his eyes falling on me before he breaks away and starts back through the doorway to the cafeteria, leaving Oliver and me here, with me being the only one left confused.

Spinning around to sit sideways on the seat to face Oliver, I raise an eyebrow. "What the hell just happened? Did you two have some rivalry or something, seems like you really wanted to punch that guy out. Would've been hilarious if you had, but you know, the principal probably wouldn't find it so humerus, you know, with them having no understanding of what's funny."

The look on Oliver's face still hasn't faded but when he turns to me, his azure eyes cold and distant but when he speaks, I can hear a warning in it which freaks me out a bit. "Logan's taking you to Homecoming, heard him bragging about it to his football buddies," he glances back over to where Logan disappeared through then back at me. "All I'm saying is, be careful. You can't trust anyone."

Before I have the chance to respond or even dwell over what Oliver said, he tells me an empty goodbye before stepping from the cafeteria the same doorway that Logan used and as I rise to start after him, Rae stumbles into the room from the alternate door to the cafeteria. Her black hair is messy and in a disarray, dark circles line her eyes, she gasping for air by the time she makes it to me.

"Rae, are you okay, you look like you finished a ten mile run in the winter weather," I reply, glancing over her mismatching clothes and just her shaken sort of tone in her body language. "And you missed it, something definitely going on between Oliver and Logan, that football jock, Oliver pretty much warned me to stay the hell away from him in such a sketchy way."

Just as I finish speaking, Rae straightens her spine and shakes her head at me. "We will have to deal with that later, right now we have a much bigger problem, I have a lead that shall help us greatly. Last night, I had a vision and I saw the woman you spoke of, the one in the black veil. After being unable to go back to sleep, I spend all morning searching for the visions location and I found it."

My eyes widen, as I push away any and all thoughts of Oliver's odd behavior because I know that if I can figure out this black veiled woman in the dress, certainly I'll be able to figure out what's going on with this so called Ghost.

"Where is it, when can we go?" I ask suddenly, trying to to get ahead of myself but find myself failing miserably.

"Tonight, after everyone at the tower has fallen to sleep, we will meet outside at that little diner a few blocks down and from there I will show you where the apartment is and we can search it for what ever it is that you're searching for. I cannot guarantee that we will in fact find what you're looking for but at least you'll have a leg up."

Winking at her I flash a warm smile. "Thanks Rae, you're the best."

"Oh and there is but one thing that I want in return," I give her a look the clearly tell her to continue with what it is that she wants to say to me. "After this, I want you to speak to your father, about this and how you are feeling, understood?"

I nod, slowly. "Understood..."


	13. Temptation of Darkness

_Chapter Thirteen: Temptation of Darkness_

 ** _Welcome back to this series, this chapter will bring back partnership and as for Panic's resentment of Toby, it shouldn't be nearly as heavy as in previous chapters as she's gonna be real busy for the next some of time. Anyways, be sure to favorite this story and leave comments, suggestions, and anything you'd like to see Panic do in the future._**

* * *

Just after midnight descends upon New York, enveloping the city with a dark, starless skyline only lit by the city lights from the buildings surrounding Avengers Tower which shuts off nearly all power automatically at eleven. Lights can be manually turned on of course, but most of us proceed to bed after JARVIS warns us five minutes prior of power goes out.

Pretending to stir in my sleep ever so carefully, I shift so that my left side is pressed against the soft mattress as my right arms slowly slips beneath my pillow, in search of a small pen styled device that I'd stashed there a few hours earlier while the Avengers were out getting groceries. Bruce Banner stayed but remained in the lab for the whole duration of their trip so it didn't matter in the least.

Curling my fingers around the icy metal device, I press the back of the pen-shaped device and like any pen, the spring inside tightens as I press the button down and wait as JARVIS is deactivated, along with any and all alarms for the duration of the button being pressed down. Before even considering do anything as risky as this, I'd asked JARVIS what everyone was doing before pressing the button.

Dad's asleep in his room with Pepper, Toby's sleeping for awhile until he awakens and cries the whole house down, and so are the majority of the Avengers, all except Nat whose in the training room which is about twelve or more floors below the lobby where I leave the building for school and other activities involving me to leave the once place of comfort but now serves as a reminder of a world I once had.

So I'm a little bitter, oh well, sue me.

Toby's a baby and I have no legitimate reason to despise him but I still can't help it but maybe it's not so odd for me to feel this way, maybe it's normal for everyone, like Oliver when he told me about when his parents had Sierra. Perhaps I just have my feelings, the same ones that Oliver once felt, multiplied because of my awful childhood, tense and rocky relationship with my dad, and the feeling that the normal young me would have felt then.

It might just be about me breaking free from the binds that hold me to this resentment that I don't or I guess am not quite positive of how to break free of them and that's what's troubling me. I feel so guilty for feeling this way about Toby and I hate myself for being this awful of a person but I don't know what to say and I don't want to tell Dad or Pepper.

She'll be all, 'hear Mom ROAR' and Dad probably wouldn't have a clue what to say to make me feel any better because what can he do about it, absolutely nothing because it's not Pepper, his, or Toby's fault. No, it's all mine and I need to work through it but I just need to find out a way to do it. Peeling back the covers to my bed, I hear something in the distance.

Not quite loud enough for Dad and Pepper to hear, yet, but on the verge of getting there. Baby Toby's fragile little voice wailing, crying out for someone, anyone, or more importantly, his parents. Rising to my feet, I slip from my room soundlessly and glide across the floor like an angel in a long white gown until slowly coming to a halt at Toby's bedroom door.

Entering a realm of sky blue walls lined with darker blue colored plastic hang up wall animals, a white painted crib pressed against the center of the wall across from the door, above it swings one of those little lullaby singers with a little blue colored bees spinning circles above his head as if to protect Toby from something above but there's nothing here that would hurt him.

Approaching the crib that holds the flailing baby, I step over something only to glance down and realized that it's Toby's baby blanket that he must have accidentally tossed over the crib wall. Crouching down, I allow my finger to brush over the soft fabric before catching it between my fingertips. Below me wiggles the red-faced, teary-eyed Toby whose lip wobbles like a loose board.

Leaning over the crib wall, I ignore how it digs into my stomach and instead focus on snugly wrapping the blanket around his tiny form but as he continues to fuss, I finally realize why. As he stares up at me with the same brown eyes that I see in my mirror, I reach for a small pacifier that lays beside Tony's head, just out of his reach, not that he'd be able to placed it where it should be anyways.

Taking the pacifier by the end and put it back into his mouth, Toby immediately begins sucking on it and staring up at me with an inquisitive sort of expression that I've never seen a baby have. Deciding that he won't be falling asleep anytime soon without a little push, I do the first thing that comes to my mind, sing a little song my mom would sing for me, she made it up herself and everything.

A smile crosses my lips as I recall one night she'd sang the song to me after I'd had a nightmare. "What a world this is, what a life you'll live, and what world you'll change, so just cry cry cry cause on day you'll fly fly fly high above the clouds and soar like those birds all around. One day you make a change, live a life without the shame, learn just who you're meant to be and live in history. So cry cry cry cause one day you're sure to fly, to fly, to fly, what a life you'll live..."

I let my singing fall away as Toby lays soundlessly, giant eyes closed tightly as he dreams of whatever it is that baby dream of. Slinking away slowly, I pull open the bedroom door and move nearly silently towards the living room, mind completely absorbed with what to do once Rae and I get to the apartment she saw in her vision and what might be inside.

What if someone's inside when we get there? Rae can get us out in a flash but if they see us, our faces I mean, we might get ourselves in some serious trouble and then there's still my Grandma Val weighing in on my mind, I still haven't called her, it's been about four days since I saw her at the park and have no idea if I should even keep the phone number in the top dresser drawer underneath my clothes like it is now.

Nearly shrieking at her, I cover my mouth before I can make a sound, standing by the front of the elevator is Nat with her arms crossed over her chest. Her auburn hair falls around in natural curls and she's wearing her Black Widow catsuit uniform. She inspects me with her green eyes and it's like she can see through me or something. I don't like it.

She keeps her face blank of any and all emotions, not that she shows them much when she's not trying to hide them but hell, even I know when she's not keeping them in check. Suddenly, she speaks.

"I don't know what you're up too," she pauses a moment, to create tension I suppose. "But I want to help," and just as I begin to protest, she presses on without even blinking. "And if you don't, I'll be more then happy to tell your father about this late night escapade, understood?"

Narrowing my eyes at her, I say nothing at first, still trying to process what's just transpired over the last ten or fifteen minutes before reluctantly relenting and in turn nod my head and when I do, Nat spins smoothly around towards the elevator and presses the down button on the elevator bringing the button of life with its shiny dull yellow glow.

Just as the elevator opens and we both slip inside, she waits until the door has shut and we've began descending does she say something without even glancing over at me. "Good move."


	14. In the Dead of Night

_Chapter Fourteen: In the Dead of Night_

 ** _Things are about to get real interesting, the plot will really pick up at this point so lets start the fun shall we? Natasha Romanoff's finally in this story as an actual friend like the original story so I hope you all enjoy that. I know the Avengers and Panic haven't had much interaction in the overall serious so I'll try to fix that. As always favorite, and leave comments!_**

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A chilly gust of winds blasts past us as we all stare up at this dilapidated old apartment complex with words spray-painted across the building side, cigarette buds tossed all across what little was left of the dead lawn, and broken beer bottles scattered across the walkway to the door of the building. Glancing over at Rae, her hair is straight now, like she finally got around to fixing it, and dark gray jeans with lacy corset top which is mostly hidden by a heavy black coat.

"Are you sure we're in the right place Rae?" I ask, but instead of responding, Rae crosses the pathway and starts up the stairs, lifting a soaked green doormat and holding up a shiny metal key.

Stepping into the building, it smells of mildew and the ceilings covered in mold and dipping down heavily with rainwater because obviously this dump doesn't have functioning roofing shingles to keep bugs and water out. I'm serious, at least one wall in this hallway's covered in cockroaches, like the wall seems to be alive by the sheer number of moving bugs.

Rae's already unlocking the door to the room she must have seen in her vision by the time Nat and I reach her, slowly she steps back, reaching for the handle, and pushes the door open to reveal a large wide-open room filled with boxes and filing cabinets. Pictures hang to the walls and along a clear fishing line positioned trough the center of the room.

Stepping inside the room, I glance around in confusion, all these pictures are of Dad, Pepper, my mom, Toby, Grandma Val, and all the others in between like my mom's brother Alex and Obadiah and Jedidiah Stane. Even me, rows of picture that I recognize, then I see one mounted towards the far wall across from the door that's of me and Raven crossing the football field, that was only a few days ago.

"What is this place?" Nat asks, glancing around the room with narrow eyes as if she can't understand what we're doing in this place and why they have all these pictures of my family.

"I'm not sure, a lots been going on lately," I reply, starting towards a desk pushed beneath a staircase leading up to what I assume in the second floor or apartment above that whoever the woman in the black veil owns must've bought the room above it.

"Like what Panic, enough with the secrets, seriously. I thought that you hiding things was settled, that you weren't going to do that anymore," Nat bites out through gritted teeth, at least I assume so. It sounds like she is but even I can't keep my anger in check and soon I spin so fast that a bobble head's head would roll from the sheer gust from the sudden movement.

"You've kept secrets and besides, everyone always says they want the truth but honestly they don't and I don't even know what to tell you because even I don't know what the hell's going on, this all started the day I decided to go back to the tower. And I was planning on telling someone, I just wanted to know what it was to tell because I have no idea who's the enemy or even why."

Nat keeps her expression blank. "Then tell me what you do know. Simple as that."

"Okay, uh..." I think back, recalling all the occurrences that's happened in the last week. "First was the elevator when I returned to the tower, all the power went out after the elevator trembled. On the number line it spelled the name GHOST and in my room was a message, FOREVER SOUNDING CYMBALS like the musical instrument. And there's a woman wearing a black veil that warned me to back off."

"What are we looking for in this place?" she asks, pulling open one of the drawers of the desk, pulling out a handful of paper, flipping through them in a matter of moments.

"Anything," I shrug. "Everything."

"Uh, Panic," I hear Raven's voice, shaky and quieter than normal. Turning, I start over to where she stands at the filing cabinet. She hands me a dark gray colored folder with the HYDRA symbol printed on the front center of the folder. Flipping it open, I feel myself blanch as I stare down at a military file and dented dog tags for none other than Alexander Wallace.

I feel Nat's presence by my side, staring down the the file in my hand, reading it along with me.

 **Full Name: Alexander Daniel Wallace**

 **Birth Date: March 17, 1975**

 **Parents: Valerie Ann Wallace (Mother) Joseph Caine Wallace**

 **Military Location: Middle East**

 **Current Status: Missing In Action (Presumed Deceased)**

The file goes on to explain his basic ranking and other aspects associated with his military career and other files along those same lines as well as mentioning he vanished in 2001 after joining the service in 1993 after he graduated high school. Pretty much after 911 he vanished for unknown reason and the military assumed that he died in some base operation to protect the base against terrorists.

It says that the following month, a group of terrorist by the name TTR shot rounds at their military base and they of course fought back and this continued all night with many casualties on both sides but we're unable to find Alex's body, dead or alive, but based on the rounds and shots fired, they concluded that he must have been buried under the sand from the bombs exploding all around.

TTR... Why does that sound so familiar to me? But the answers suddenly clear when I flip the net page over and see a picture of a red flag with two pirate swords crossing each each other and large circles enclosing them, the symbol of the Ten Rings. What could they have to do with all this? Unless it's even bigger than I originally thought because what clearly things are getting heavy.

"Seems this is a lot larger than you thought Panic," Nat said, not a tone of judgement in her tone and then suddenly I feel the words bubbling up my throat and escape before I have the chance to stop them.

"The other day, when I snapped at you, I was at the park, thinking about my childhood when I realized that my Grandma Val was there, that she knew me and she'd told my mother that I'd ruined her life by being created and that she should've aborted me and now with Dad and Pepper and this baby, I feel like I'm intruding on their little family unit and they don't even care enough to check on me, am I that disposable!?"

After blurting this out, I slap a hand over my mouth and lean back against the filing cabinet and look anywhere by at Nat and Raven, I can literally feel the pity dripping from Rae's eyes.

"Panic, I'm sorry okay, sorry that I left you and didn't call or see you for such a long time. I'm sorry I took so long to understand why it bothered you but I can't help you with this, you need to talk to him, talk to Tony and Pepper because this is about you, I can't help with this but I can give you advice and that's to not dwell on all the little details, they're busy, that kids keeps them and the rest of us awake all night. Just talk to him."

Slowly, I nod my head. "Yeah, I should. Rae, can we go?"

Rae steps forward and holds out a hand to us which we take and suddenly the ground vanishes as we're enveloped in darkness, I can feel a strong breeze of wind blasting at us as we're traveling in the shadows. But before really getting a chance to enjoy the sensation of weightlessness that comes along with this type of travel, we're back on the sidewalk, looking up at Avengers Tower.

"Thank you Rae, for the help, and you to Nat, I'm sorry for some of the things I said," but instead of responding, she simply nods and pushes me through the doorway on the tower and into the elevator, towards the lab where I assume Dad is.

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 **Raven's POV:**

A tickle in my throat urges as soon as I have Panic and Natasha Romanoff back at the tower but instead, I hold back as I know what will happen as soon as I let out the first cough. After Natasha has led Panic into the tower and the elevator door closes, I reach into the pocket of my jeans and pull out a tissue, coughing into i without mercy.

My body aches and trembles, my lungs burn from lack of oxygen, and my brain is blurry without a sense of understanding as I give into the urge craving me to keep coughing until suddenly I have to refill my lungs. Pulling back the tissue, I look down at the now brightly stained crimson blood glistening back at me from the shining lights overhead.

The tissues nearly soaked in my blood and I can taste the iron of my blood in my mouth and when I run my tongue across my lips but nonetheless, I bunch the tissue up and slip it back into my pocket. As long as no one knows, it can't hurt anyone, yet. I have been this way since getting back from Asgard, every time I use my powers it seems to get worse and worse, my bones feel brittle, my legs wobble, and my head throbs like a jackhammer.

No one must know.

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 _ **A/N: What do you think of Raven's condition since Asgard? What do you think is wrong/going on with her and why she's coughing up blood, let me know down below! And what about Panic and Tony's upcoming talk? What do you hope they discuss?**_


	15. Oath of Honor

_Chapter Fifteen: Oath of Honor_

 ** _Here we go, the first time Tony's been seen since "Grin and Bear It" so let's get ready for the craziness to continue. As always make sure to favorite this story and leave as many comments as you desire, I won't mind, oh and something I just wanted to mention. Isn't it funny how Tony does not, has not, cared at all that Panic just blatantly curses in front of him or is it just me? Kind of funny though..._**

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My room looks like a tornado went through it, that's what my mom would say if she were here and saw the disastrous state that has become of my room now that I've thrown all the dresses Pepper bought me over the last few years across the room. Blue, purple, red, black, green, all various colors with various fabrics like lace, cotton, silk. It doesn't really matter but the Homecoming Dance if tomorrow evening and Sierra will kill me if I don't dress nicely.

Oliver's warning about Logan Montgomery still weighs heavily on my mind like a hundred pound barbell just waiting to fall and crack someone's head open like kicking in a pumpkins carved face. Reaching for the first dress laying on my bed, I strip down and slip the dress over my head, realizing that I'll need a strapless bra if I plan to wear a dress at all considering Pepper doesn't buy me any dresses with sleeves.

I look over myself in the mirror to examine the dress, it's got a sweetheart styled neckline, despite the ruffling fabric, it hugs my waist firmly, and falls down in a puffy lace flair, cutting off just below my knees. Around the dresses neckline, the non-existent once I mean, is decorated in beautiful clear rhinestones glittering brightly beneath the light fixture overhead.

Pepper who'd probably freak out and burst with excitement if she knew I was planning on going to this stupid Homecoming Dance, that's why I didn't tell her, or my Dad because I know he'd flip out, sure he's been preoccupied with Toby but even this would catch his full attention. Me going to a school dance, with a boy, one he's never met before, that I never mentioned, nearly alone. Yeah, it'll be bad when he finds out.

A knock at my door signals someone on the other side, grabbing a black lace shawl, I call for the person, Nat I assume, to enter but instead realize that the person can't be Nat. Footsteps are too loud, Nat's silent, like a cat that needs to be strapped with a bell around her neck to keep from sneaking up on people, plus they're a lot heavier than she is.

Glancing up, I see Dad reflecting in my body mirror, reaching my arms underneath my hair, I tug it out from the shawl I'd just thrown on, letting the red hair fall down in natural but stylish curls before turning to face him. His brown eyes briefly look me over from top to bottom, confusion clearly written across his face as his eyes fall to my face but before he can ask, I explain.

"A friend of mine, Sierra, is dragging Rae, Ollie, and me to the Homecoming Dance and she's wants us all to look presentable," I scowl. "Ugh! Just kill me now, this is gonna be hell. Straight up hell, that's where we're living y'know?"

He shrugs, casually inching further into my room as the door closes quietly. He scoots the tower of dresses that've accumulated on my bedspread to the floor and plops down on my full sized bed, staring at me with unwavering eyes. He wants to talk, about what? I have no freaking idea but nonetheless decide to play it cool just in case it's about something I'd rather not discuss.

"Was there something you needed?" I ask, bending down to pick up the dresses, only to move them to a purple rocking chair adjacent to me bed and beside my desk where I do all my schoolwork.

"I actually came here to tell you that Pep made dinner but now that I know about your school dance endeavors, I've got an inching to know more about that. Do you have a date?" his voice dips at the last part, sort of a growl to it.

I shrug, keeping my eyes directed away from his. "Sort of, nothing serious."

"Tell me about him, what should I know. I have the funds to make him vanish, not a single record would remain, I could do that. Maybe I should do that, JARVIS..." he continues on his rant a few minutes before I finally get a word in edge wise.

"Nothing to even worry about, he's the quarter back of my high school's football team who wouldn't know a transmission from a muffler, and kind of dimwitted with an IQ of -10. Plus I don't even like him, I only agreed because I'd probably destroy his ego if I said no, he'd never be able to handle me anyways, far to rebellious for him," I say, looking back at myself in the mirror.

"Probably, but I don't like him, at all. He's a piece of shit, all guys are, don't believe a word the bastard says, he's after one thing, I would know I mean..." he pauses and I'm glad he does, I really didn't want to hear the end of that sentence. "Never mind, that's not the point."

I look over my shoulder just in time to see him climb off my bed and straighten his AC/DC shirt before stepping over to me, standing behind me and placing his hands on my shoulders. My eyes fall back to the mirror where he seems to be looking at as well, he lowers his right hand down my shoulder and catches a loose strand of hair that fell over my shoulder, putting it back in place before he pulls away, starting towards the door but halfway there, he stops, and turns.

"By the way, you look beautiful Panic. At that dance you better keep that shawl on or I'll have to escort and chaperon you and this Quarterback of yours and you—you're forbidden to be alone with him, especially in dark places or vehicles, that's an order young lady."

I laugh, rolling my eyes. "Young lady? I'm gonna be eighteen in April."

He shoots me a look that says exactly what he's going to say. "So what, I don't care if you're 51, I'll still tell you that."

"You'll be dead by then," I comment.

"No," he shakes his head childishly. "I'll live forever, just for that sole purpose. Screw the laws of nature, I'll figure out a way to defy it. That's what the Stark name is all about, defying the odds, changing the natural order that the world set. I mean seriously, a flying metal suit, all that needs to be said."

"Yeah..." I reply, feeling my cheery mood deflating at this. Another realization of other grounds that I've failed miserably one, ruining not only Dad's reputation but tainting the Stark name. When he was four, he made a Circuit Board and at seven an engine and at seventeen graduated MIT at the top of his class, and I haven't finished high school.

The most technological creations I've made was the Phaser, the necklace that my mom and the replica Dad gave me that allows me to turn invisible and phase through walls, and the Reflector, the shield devices to carry with someone. That's it, nothing extravagant to make me shine as an inventor, nothing but living in the shadow of Stark Industries, Howard, and my father.

"Panic!" Dad shouts, he sounds frustrated, like he's called my name a couple of time, maybe he has.

"What?" I ask, blinking twice before meeting his gaze.

"Are you okay?" he asks and when I nod, he continues speaking. "Remember, Pepper made dinner and she'll be furious if we don't get down there, she's probably furious right now for taking so long."

As soon as Dad reaches the door, I feel a question that I've been wanting to ask for awhile bubble to the surface and I can't stop myself from asking. "One more thing. If you had a reset button, a chance to go back and change anything mistake in your past..." I pause, thinking it over as the rest of the question falls off my tongue. "Would you?"

My body burns as I wait for his response, my bones feel like they've been ignited and my body weighs me down like iron and just when it seems like the answer is obvious, he answers.

"No," he almost whispers the words, before turning to face me. "I wouldn't change anything Panic, and if I ever did, it would be to make sure I was around during your childhood. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, along with Pepper, and now Toby and I wouldn't change that for the world."

With that, he slips silently from the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

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 _ **A/N: This chapter turned out so much better then I thought it would, such a sweet little chapter before all the shit starts, next chapter will be the Homecoming Dance so get ready for the excitement. And what did you think of this fluffy father/daughter moment between Tony and Panic.**_


	16. Moonlight Melody

_Chapter Sixteen: Moonlight Melody_

 ** _Finally, the Homecoming Dance chapter is here and shit's about to get started because of this so get ready for the real action to begin, they're still a few semi-slow things, two I believe, but after that, it's all serious and trust me, what happens in this story will travel through the next two coming after this. Be sure to favorite and leave comments! READ_**

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 ** _AUTHORS NOTE BELOW!_**

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Sierra's the life of the party, her aqua dress glittering bright among the disco ball shining overhead, people encircle her like she's the most fascinating person in the world, clearly I'm more interesting but I have a general disdain for ignorant people asking stupid questions and when they all tried to talk to me, I just scowled at them until they migrated to Sierra.

Logan Montgomery, my so-called-date, still has yet to arrive and it's really starting to bug me. I don't like the asshole but he's the one who asked me to come to this stupid dance with him so he should at least have the decency to show up. Raven stands by the punch bowl, filling up to glasses with the cloudy orange drink into the cups, one for me and one for her.

I told her she didn't have to get me one just because she was going, nonetheless, she got me one anyways, saying that since she was already going to get her a glass that she may as well get me one. To anyone else, they'd think Rae got herself some extensions for her now long black hair, but I know she used her powers to grow it out to the point of reaching her upper back, right about where her rib cage cuts off.

It falls down over her shoulder in straight, silky black strands, her lips are painted bright red, her makeup is dark and her mascara make her eyelashes fuller and much bolder than normal. She wears a swoop neck, emerald dress that wraps around her back leaving a little circle opening in the back, ruffles around the waiting and bust, and includes sleeves for her to wear on her arms.

She looks amazing, I'm glad she's enjoying herself. This is the happiest she's been since getting back from Asgard which she still has yet to tell me about but I'm okay with it. Rae has a right to keep things from me, even if I don't like the idea but then again, I did the same thing before so I don't have much moral ground to stand on either, what with Dad an Pepper and Toby and hiding how I really feel and the woman in the black veil.

Guilty is exactly what I am, of the same type of thing, keeping secrets, but no more, after the dance tonight I'll march straight in and tell Dad everything, I'm gonna be eighteen soon and I need to grow up and act like the adult I'm going to be. If that means saying things I don't really want to admit, so be it, not that I can do anything about it right now, it'll be at least two or three hours before Sierra will let us leave.

Looking around the snack table, all I can see are chocolate coated items, why couldn't they just have ordered a pizza, I'd rather have a greasy slice of pizza that a milk chocolate coated strawberry. I mean seriously, what the hell?

"Is the snack table talking to you, I'd say I'm surprised but that'd be a lie, wouldn't risk putting anything on that table even remotely close to my face, much less actually eat it," sounds a familiar voice. Glancing over I see Oliver standing beside me, grinning.

He wore a plain black suit with blue tie, he didn't bother with fixing his hair all fancy like a lot of the people here did, using about a bottle of hair gel to keep it slicked back, no, he kept his usual skater hair, messy and falling every where.

"I wish, certainly would make this stupid dance more interesting. I'm considering climbing out a bathroom window in this dress and stupid pumps," I say, glancing down at my black heels.

Oliver shifts the topic, his voice dips colder. "Where's Logan, your date?"

Shrugging, I tilt my head slightly. "Don't know, don't really care. What'd you mean by the way? About being careful around him, do you know something about him that I should?"

That same look as before passes over his features, darkening them a moment before vanishing as quickly as before. "Panic, please just trust me on this. There's a lot of things going on and I'm just trying to keep you safe," he said, blue eyes bouncing around the room like pinball as if everyone's a threat and maybe he's right to be cautious. Maybe, just maybe something happened to him as well.

"Come with me..." I say suddenly, surprising myself even but instead of showing my surprise, I keep my cool.

"Excuse me?" Oliver asks, wiping his head around to stare at me, eyebrow raised in confusion, but instead of repeating what I said, I subtly wave for him to follow me and start towards the doorway.

When he finally reaches the doorway, I take his wrist and drag him down the dark but empty hallway and drag him into a supply closet where no one's likely to hear us talking. "Okay, I'm gonna tell you something but you have to promise to never tell anyone ever, alright?"

He nods. "Of course Panic, you can tell me anything."

"As you know, I don't really have my Dad come to any school events and there's a reason for that. I'm just gonna say it, Tony Stark, the guy that built the Iron Man armor, well, long story short, he's my father."

Oliver freezes in place as a range of emotions crosses his face before finally he speaks. "Wait, Tony Stark's your father, the former weapon monger who runs Stark Industries, part of the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes? Your dad!?"

"Sssh!" I hiss at him, glancing around, trying to hear if anyone heard him. "Yes, and technically Pepper runs it, but yeah, that Tony Stark. I live in the Avengers Tower and personally know the mightiest heroes in question but that's not the point. The only person besides you that know who isn't the Avengers or my dad is Rae. She knows."

"Wait, Raven knows and you didn't tell me, why?" he asks, trying not to sound hurt.

"We've been friends for two or three years now, besides she's got a sort of secret too but we can't get into that right now. I just need to know how dangerous Logan is, by the way you were acting, it seemed bad. Like really, really, really bad."

"He's dangerous," the same look passes over his face as he stares at the wall my back is pressed too. I used to be friends with him, back when we were younger and something about him didn't seem right but I just brushed it off... figured I was just paranoid..."

"You weren't," I added, already knowing what he meant.

"Turns out he was there for a reason, I didn't know why until I stumbled into a hidden room in my house, one that someone tried really hard to hide," just as he is about to delve deeper, female screams fill the air with a piercing sound that could shatter glass. In the distance, I hear the power box to the school explode with a loud _whoosh_ falling close behind. Pushing open the closet, I step out into the hallways. Pitch darkness surrounding us.

"What the hell's going on!?" Oliver asks in a panicky whisper.

Tempted as I am to glance over at him to read his expression, I can't even see my fingers held only centimeters from my face, much less someone who's a few feet away from me. Starting forward, I feel someone yank the back of my shirt but it's not Oliver. Moonlight peers into through the large overlooking window and I see a large man in a black suit, red tie, and a sleek black pistol in hand as he shoves Oliver into the closet, locking him inside.

The man who has me yanks me to left, slamming my back into a set of lockers lining the wall, rattling on impact as lighting like pain shoots up my spine. Hands close around my throat, slowly suffocating me, opening my eyes I look into the face of Logan, an dark gleam in his eyes. He shifts slightly, as the other man turns and my eyes widen when I see who it is, none other than Obadiah Stane. How the hell is he even alive!?

Seeing my expression Obadiah laughs. "Hello Panic Stark, it's nice to finally meet you in person. Never got the chance before I 'died' but there's no time like the present, am I right?" he asks with a shrug.

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 _ **A/N: Today (June 16, 2015) is the one year anniversary of "A Girl Named Panic" being posted and so I've decided and have been planning to make special one-shots that are really long and apart of the universe, so because of this, the special will be posted right after this, it's called "Panic Behind a Looking Glass" so you should go check it out and tell me what you think. Oh and if you have any extended one-shot thing in Panic's universe you'd like to see, tell me and I may just write it for next years anniversary!**_


	17. Cutting Crimson, Bleeding Rage

_Chapter Seventeen: Cutting Crimson, Bleeding Rage_

 _ **Originally some of this was supposed to be in chapter sixteen but I though it'd do better as a completely separate chapter with a lot more reveals that can be made now and what do you think of Oliver taking over a role as a main supporting cast, Raven will still be there too, I think he'll be from this chapter on and what about Sierra's lack of importance, do you want to know more about her personality as a character or are you content with just Oliver and Raven? Comment below and let me know!. As always be sure to favorite.**_

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Logan has me pinned against the locker, his hand wrapped tightly around me throat while I claw at him arm for air while I can hear Oliver banging his fists against the closet door he's locked in. Obadiah looks at the door, to me, and back and forth while letting a deep low laugh rumble deep from his stomach as if it's the most hysterical thing he's ever seen.

Finally, Obadiah fixes his icy blue eyes on me, all the humor draining from his features as Logan slowly loosens his grip on my throat as I cough and suck as much air I can. "Poor little girl. You haven't a clue what's going on, bad day to wear high heels I supposed because now they serve as your handicap, not that that dress is helping you either."

Keeping my eyes glued to Obadiah, I'm still confused. How is he alive, I know he died a long time ago. 2008 I believe.

"How about I enlighten you? The Logan Montgomery isn't real. Never was, never will be. Now that that's been established," he motions to the closet door. "Who's that, your boyfriend, crush? Does your father know, I knew the man, he would not be happy about you being alone with a boy. Ha! If he even cared enough to pay you a sliver of attention."

My eyes nearly widen in both surprise and a pang of hurt that slices through me like a knife, but I remain emotionless, trying to piece what little information given to me like some wonky puzzle left out in the rain, soaked and molding. If this person in front of me isn't who he said, then who is he really?

"It's a shame, what happen to your mother, she was an amazing woman and you're a lot like her, unfortunately you're a lot like Tony too which is unfortunate in its own right. However, I have come here on business and as much as I'd love to have just popped in to give a warm hello to one who I could have at one time considered a niece, now's is just not the time."

"You're playing with fire child, and HYDRA's about ready to strike back. Consider this your warning, stay far away from HYDRA and our plans and you may live to see another day. And one last thing, a piece of personal advice if you will consider taking, if you're really naive enough to believe that Tony Stark, the guy who can't commit to anything, really cares about you more than his new son, you're sorely mistaken like idiot girl you are."

"Who is he really?" I ask Obadiah, proceeding to glance between Obadiah and Logan, asking him directly. "Who are you really?"

Logan doesn't answer, just glares down at me, hatred and anger brimming behind his eyes as his hand tightens around my throat again, causing the hallways around me to swing left and right, like gravity gone haywire. Pulling futilely at his hand encircling my throat, I suddenly feel the ground falling away and that's when I realize I'm on the verge of blacking out.

Everything begins to blur out of focus and I know I've got to do something, using my oxygen deprived brain I calculate all the possibilities available to escape this situation so I can shove a stake knife right through at least one of their eye sockets. Then I remember my necklace hanging around my neck. The pendent Dad gave me that was a replica of the one Mom gave me, all the modification are complete. I grin, giving a mock laugh.

Obadiah narrows his cold blue eyes at me, running a hand over his gray beard. "What could be so amusing to you about your circumstances, I always knew you Stark's were deranged but this is taking on a while new level of insanity."

"Trust me, you're the idiot who underestimated me because now you're in over your head," I jut my leg out, kicking Logan where it hurts, sending my plan into action as he keels over. I kick off my heels and grab the right one in a hurry. I snap off the stiletto heel attached to the actual shoe and find a small circular button I'd embedded in the shoe for emergencies, calling to Oliver to cover his ears just as I and press it, tossing it toward Logan and Obadiah.

Covering my ears in just the nick of time, the heel pulses and I watch in wonderment as all the glass widows shatter into a million glittering pieces now scattered across the hallway floor while Obadiah and Logan have fallen to the ground, clutching at their bleeding ears. Just as the devices gives a final shriek, in smokes, exploding in a small eruption to stay out of the wrong hands.

Before they have time to recover, I tap the heart shaped necklace around my neck three times and run towards the closet where Oliver is locked in. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit concerned that I hadn't configured it right or maybe the new update pieces wouldn't work the same as the original but all fear vanished once I phased through the wall, finding myself beside Oliver who's still pounding heavy fists against the door.

Tapping the necklace one, I nudge Oliver who looks over, jumping back in surprised. "How did you even get in here, the doors still locked?"

Motioning to my necklace and myself in general, I elaborate slightly, not giving away important details but just a brief idea. "Inventor, I create awesome tech, now we need to get the hell out of here, now."

I take his wrist and tap the necklace the same three times again and pull him trough the wall. He looks shocked, like it's such an impossible thing to actually work but just as we step into a dark but still empty hallway, he speaks.

"Sierra, we can't go. I have to get my sister out of here, I'd never be able to live with myself if anything happens to her," he tried to pull away but I only hold him tighter.

 _"Panic, what is going on. Are the both of you alright, sorry to invade the privacy of your mind, I know you dislike when I do that,"_ I hear Rae's voice in my mind, giving a sigh of relief but annoyance as well.

 _"Oliver and I are alright, turns out Logan's evil and Obadiah Stane's alive and he's working with HYDRA. Oliver's worried about his sister, can you get Sierra out of here, send her back to her house?"_

 _"Yeah, does Oliver know? Did you tell him about me?"_ her voice comes out soft, sounding so frail and small compared to the usual calm and semi-confident tone she usually expresses.

 _"Not exactly, I told him about how you knew about Tony Stark being my father and how you're a bit different as well, do you want me to?"_ I ask, slightly curious to hear her answer.

 _"No, I'd rather him not know I'm the daughter of a monster, but if knowing I can teleport Sierra out of here eases his mind, then by all means. Just leave out the Loki God of Mischief portion of it."_

 _"Okay..."_ I didn't say, or I guess it's actually think, anything else. Because there's nothing left to say.

"Don't worry about Sierra, Rae's gonna get her out, we need to worry about protecting ourselves from those men who attacked us in the hallway," I yank his arm to get him moving. Oliver doesn't budge, just stairs off in the direction of the gymnasium. "Oliver," he looks back at me. "Trust me, Raven will get her out safely, I trust that girl with my life and so should you."

"How do you know, what if she can't?"

"She can," I insist, staring into the storm raging in his blue eyes. "Please believe me."

"Why," he's practically begging me at this point to give him one real reason to prove that Raven can really get his little sister out of this dangerous place, so I decide to give him the reason he needs.

"Raven can teleport, now get your ass moving before they catch up," I say, pulling again but this time he moves with me as we sprint down the hallway but I can feel his eyes on me. "I know, there's a lot of stuff we haven't told you and Sierra. Rae and I figured you'd be safer if you didn't know but once we're back at the tower, I'll tell you everything you want to know but I need to know what Logan wanted and about the hidden room."


	18. Point of No Return

_Chapter Eighteen: Point of No Return_

 ** _Here we go, time for the real action to begin, so last time Obadiah was after Panic and Logan isn't really who we think, Oliver just found out Panic is the daughter of Tony Stark (thanks to all the comments about them not understanding how he couldn't know, now I'll be adding an explanation for it so you'll learn some stuff about Oliver and Sierra) and Raven was going to get Sierra out. Be sure to favorite this story and leave comments._**

* * *

A blast of chilling wind blasts forwards to greet us the moment we slip outside of the school, using the gym doors that no one ever remembers being opened. My body shivers as I wrap the shawl closer to me, my bare feet sinking into the snow caking the student parking lot. My feet sting with the sheer cold against them from the snow below but luckily, Oliver's beat-up old Trans-Am that still retains a sleek black paint coating.

Only a few dents need to be hammered out, the muffler, hubcaps, and probably most of the stuff under the hood. I won't know what unless I look under it but because of the shape it's in, probably all of it. The windshield has a large crack etching it's way across the glass, spreading off in two other directions from the larger place of impact.

Opening the door, I slip inside the stormy gray colored leather interior as Oliver gets in on the drivers side. Glancing over, he motions to the back seat and when I raise an eyebrow her explains as he puts the key in the ignition, car roaring to life when he turns the key.

"Sierra left a pair of tennis shoes in the back for when the dance was over, knowing her feet would be killing her. Considering you don't have any shoes, I assume you used 'em like a deadly weapon, batarang action anyone?"

"That's copyrighted," I point out, as he pulls the car forward as the wheels growl with each press of the gas.

"You can borrow those shoes so you don't get frostbite, don't want your feet amputated, that would be bad and if your dad found out I allowed you to loose a foot, he'd definitely make me vanish off the radar. I still can't believe Tony Stark's your dad, like seriously?"

"How did you not know that already?" I finally blurt it out. "And how are you not freaking out at this point, after everything that just happened and your not at all panicking!?"

Oliver glances over, then shifts his eyes back to the road ahead of him as we try to put as much distance between us and the high school about a block back now. He sighs, a tired sigh, one that I'm all too familiar with. I'm used to doing that sigh myself.

"There's a lot of stuff I haven't told you either Panic. You've told me a lot about yourself when you quite honestly didn't have too, it's only fair that I do the same. Sierra and I don't live with our parents, not anymore."

"Why?" I ask.

"They're dead," he said, not a hit of hesitation in his voice and just as I'm about to give my condolences he continues. "They died in the Battle of New York, but a few months before that, I found out who Logan really was. Like I said, I stumble on a hidden room in the basement of our old place. Inside, I found a registered list of every S.H.I.E.L.D. operative who've ever lived and who are still in active duty. It was on a flashdrive, hidden under a loose floorboard."

My eyes widen. "Your parents were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents?"

"Apparently, I never asked them about it, it does explain why my mom and dad would be gone for extended periods, sometimes one would be home while the other was away. After the Battle of New York, Sierra and I moved in with our Aunt Madison and her husband Graham on their farm out in Nebraska where we worked on the farm, helping with the animals, milking cows, collecting eggs, that sort of stuff."

"They don't have cable out there where they live, we were lucky enough that they had indoor plumbing installed when they were told we'd be moving in. Before that they used an outhouse and a well in the back by the barn for fresh cooking water. That's why I didn't know about Tony Stark being your father, it was after our move."

Nodding more to myself than to Oliver. It makes sense, but by the cloudy look in his azure eyes, I know he has more to tell but just as he's about to speak, my cell phone rings. Reaching into the pocket sown inside my dress, I pull out my STARK phone to see the icon with Dad's picture and the same word type below the images in bold white Time New Roman font.

"Hello?" I say, despite already know who it is.

"Panic, are you alright," he asks, I hint a touch of concern in his usually casual, sarcastic voice.

Blinking twice, I respond. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, Pepper and I were watching the news when the newsreel mentioned your schools on total blackout, screams from inside, and completely lost power so I know something's wrong. I wanted to make sure you're alright, where are you?"

"I'm in the car with Oliver, Raven's getting Sierra out of the school. I really need to talk to you about something but right now just tell me, is everyone alright, nothing bad's happened yet?"

"No... Why, Panic, what's going on. I swear to whatever mighty being that everyone in every religion believes in that if you don't tell me— Wait. Oliver, that's a boys name, are you alone in a car with a boy!? Wait, Ollie was the name of your friend— You lied to me, you never told me that 'Ollie' was actually a guy."

"Aah! I didn't lie, just withheld that tiny little fact..."

Dad's silent on the other end of the line for a moment, my heart begins to pound. "Maybe not directly lie, but you did by omission. You knew something that I should have been told and withheld it because you didn't want me to know."

"Sure, whatever..." I reply, waving my hand flippantly. Even if he can't see it, it makes me feel better.

"Why would you keep that from me? Plus, I have a right to terrify any and all of the boyfriend you have and will have in the future. Pretty sure it's in my job description, got a business card and everything—"

"He is not my boyfriend!" I shout into the phone, Oliver glances over at me. Ears must be burning. "And because I know you. You do or say something embarrassing or make everyone feel super uncomfortable."

Dad makes a scoffing sound before speaking to Pepper who I presume is sitting beside him. "Pep, do I embarrass people?"

"Oh yeah... I'm surprised you didn't know already, why do you think I avoid going to public places with you. Who knows what things you'll say in front of the entire world," I vaguely hear Pepper's voice in the background.

"Wait, didn't you say you needed to tell me something? How bad is it, are you dying? What kind of coffin do you want, I'm thinking mahogany painted a creamy white, a wreath of red and yellow roses around the side and circles up and around the center of the coffin. A large plague made a bullet proof glass, your name engraved in it. Pepper will have to pick the saying for under your picture but I think that'd be a nice—"

"Obadiah Stane's alive..." I didn't mean to just blurt it out, but oh well. Telling him in the middle of a pointless monologue about my possible death in the future is better than in the middle of the battlefield.

"Wait what...?" Dad asks, voice falling away as if trying to process how that could even be remotely possible.

"And he's working with HYDRA."

Silence falls over the line again. "Get back to the tower as soon as possible. We have a lot to talk about."

This time the line goes dead.

"I assume that means I'm gonna have to meet daddy dearest?" Oliver asks, his voice softer than I think I've ever heard it before. Glancing over at him, I flash a well-rehearsed smile used for the public and paparazzi.

"Good luck to you," I glance away, watching the starless night pass in near silence, dreading what's awaiting at home.


	19. Out From Under

_Chapter Nineteen: Out From Under_

 ** _Welcome back to the story that just keeps pelting you with random plot twists and never ending expositions for the story build up, anyways, last time Panic accidentally revealed that Oliver is a boy and a few other things and now they were headed to the tower to explain what's been going on. But maybe something will sidetrack that momentarily... Be sure to favorite this story and leave comment!_**

* * *

An awkward silence seems to have taken hold of the atmosphere in the car because neither Oliver or I seem to know what to say to each other, especially not after that embarrassing conversation with my dad. I literally had to tell him Oliver wasn't my boyfriend, that means Oliver knows that I never told my dad that he was a boy to begin with, so there's also that hanging over us.

"Your dad didn't know I was a boy?" Oliver asks, and I nearly jump at the sound of his voice. I didn't expect him to speak first, or even at all because why should he? I'm the one who didn't tell my dad about him, not Oliver so it's all on me.

"Pretty much, never actually told him. However, just to be clear, didn't lie though, just left out small details here and there," I reply, glancing over at him and flashing a signature smirk in his direction.

"Like what?" he asks, intrigued but keeping his eyes glued to the road in front of him.

"Never referring to you by your name, instead a gender neutral. Specifically Ollie, always mentioning how Rae would be there and your sister Sierra. He never asked if you were a boy, instead he just assumed... Wrongly, might I add," suddenly straightening the moment I see a a strangely familiar name on a passing street sign.

Oliver slows the car, looking over at me, eyebrow raised. "What's the matter? Are those people who attacked us back at the school driving behind us, damn..."

Shaking my head, I look out the window. "What street are we on?"

Spending back up, her blinks a few time, confused by my asking. "Madison Avenue, why?"

It all clicks into place and I lean close to the windshield as the image of the business care quickly flashes through my mind, almost like a photographic memory but not quite as graphic, instead I see the words floating around with a black background behind it.

 _Dr. Christopher Quinn_

 _Plastic Surgeon_

 _555-0472-8924│ChristopherQ_ _│512 Madison Avenue, New York City, New York_

"Look for a building the with the number 512, it's a plastic surgeon's office and somehow this Dr. Quinn is involved with HYDRA and this woman who wears a black veil who warned me to stay away from this for my own safety, I need to know what this doctor has to do with everything going on," I reply, watching the passing apartment buildings until we pull up into a parking lot when we find a large grey building with a plaque with _512_ engraved in gold coloring.

Oliver follows me as I climb from the car, starting around the building where I know there must be a back door or something of the sort. Rounding the corner, I find a fire escape instead, still effective I suppose.

"Panic!" Oliver hisses, his voice a low whisper. "What are you doing? I'm pretty sure breaking and entering is illegal. I know I'm not lawyer and may need to brush up on New York laws but it's a universal duh."

Ignoring him, I climb grab the bars hanging at the end of the fire escape, jumping twice before managing to grasp it, and using what body strength I somehow have, pull myself up and start up the stairs, practically running up as I head Oliver sigh and feel the fire escape shake when he climbs up as well. Making my way up, I find myself standing at a large rectangular window, glass propped up by a stick jimmied in.

Cautiously, I lift the window up farther and slip slightly into what appears to be a lobby of some sort with a reception desk and everything. Holding the window up for Oliver, I wait until he climbs through before carefully closing the window back down on the stick. Taking Oliver's hand in mine, I tap the necklace three times before pulling him through a closed, and obviously locked door.

Releasing him once we're on the other side of the door in a dark, nearly pitch black room but thanks to the drawn open curtains, the advertisements and flashing billboards lights pouring into the office. Immediately, I move toward a large oak wood office desk where a sleek, obviously new, white Apple laptop is places at the desks center.

Pulling the leather rolling chair towards me, I sit down and flip the laptop open, pressing the power button, and waiting for it to boot up. As soon as the screen loads, it asks for the password. Rifling through one drawer after the next, I search for something that this doctor would have written a password on, like a note card or a sticky note tapped under his desk.

That's actually a pretty cleaver hiding spot. Scooting the chair back, I get down on my knees and look beneath the desk, feeling the wood with my hand until I feel paper, ripping it down immediately. Soon I'm into the computer, searching for a data base with records of all his patients, what sort of work they've had done, any connection that tie them to HYDRA.

Name after name, all in alphabetical order, yet none seem to stick out in my mind, all fairly normal names until I come across a single name with the letter E. Emersyn Pierce to be precise, and if my memories serves me well, Alexander Pierce who was the head of S.H.I.E.L.D was a notable member of HYDRA. Clicking on her name, I wait as the file loads.

A picture appears in the right hand corner, she's a beautiful woman with a creamy complexion, straight chestnut colored hair chopped short, to her shoulders to be exact. Cold blue eyes that are mysterious enough to draw in those who don't know when to be wary or those who like to play with fire, or I suppose danger would be the better term.

"What'd you find," Oliver asks, leaning over me to look at the screen, resting a hand on the table beside the laptop as he does.

"Emersyn Pierce, the last name's associated with a man who was a high ranking agent of HYDRA, a evil terrorist organization that seeks world domination, y'know, the usual supervillian stuff," I reply, reading over the information held within the file. Apparently the 165,000 dollars had stiffened into Dr. Quinn's back account by some unknown supplier of funds.

"What does she have to do with all this?" he asks, as I shrug. Honestly having no idea what she could possibly have to do with HYDRA's plans and why they're so against me finding out what evil plans they have in the works.

"I don't know, but it's not gonna be good, that much I'm sure of," I reply, looking over the information provided on her, trying to commit everything my eyes graze over to memory even as if I may never get the chance to see it again, which I may very well not be able to.

 **Full Name: Emersyn Marie Pierce**

 **Birthdate: December 6, 1984**

 **Father: Alexander Pierce**

 **Mother: Unknown**

The document continues into heath issues on her father side and what she might know about her mothers side of issues, all that sort of stuff but the moment I hear loud banging of the shutters, I decide against cross examining the files right now.

Coping the URL link, I write it across my wrist and quickly close the tabs and shut the computer down. Oliver follows me to the window, lifting it for me as I climb through it in a swift second and find myself back out into the icy air but the moment I glace down the metal fire escape, all the air seems to evaporate from my lungs while my mind tries to process what I see.

Faintly, I hear Oliver starting from the window but I'm paralyzed, repeating the same word over and over in my mind which now seems to be short-circuiting like a frayed wire. _Impossible_ , _impossible_ , _impossible_... While she continues to stare up at me, cold green eyes narrowed as the chilling wind blows her red corkscrew curls, but something about her is off.

"Mom...?" I asks in but a whisper, my words falling off into the freezing air and into a white cloud of smoke blown away by the next gust.


	20. The Valley of Frozen Hearts

_Chapter Twenty: The Valley of Frozen Hearts_

 ** _Here we go again, last chapter Panic thought she saw her mom but as for if it's real or not has yet to come to light, like I've been saying, there's a lot of plot twists and craziness in this story and will for the next two books following. Make sure to favorite and leave comments!_**

* * *

My minds a vast abyss of sheer darkness as I try to wade myself out from the gap trying to consume me. Nothing make sense and I can't focus on anything after saying that one word that has burned the back of my throat like touching a hand to the burner of a stove. Mom. The moment Oliver arrived, I glanced over my shoulder at him and when I looked back, she was gone. Like a gust of wind, or a ghost in the fog.

I hardly remember the spark that shot through me when Oliver's hand encircled my wrist, or the tugging sensation when he guided me down the chilling metal fire escape. His mouth moved so I knew he was speaking, but it was like my ears were broken and no sound came out. Everything was a blur, the corner of my vision hazy and seeing through tunnel vision.

Resorting to lip-reading, I try to concentrate on his moving lips, only really succeeding in confusing myself even more. I try to speak, my lips move, I know that much but weather or not I actually made a noise is beyond me. He responds but I still can't hear anything, the only thing that registers is the same thought that's been hammering me this whole time. _My mother's alive...?_ Followed by the expected _How? Why didn't she contact me?_

Everything after is a big black gap in my memory.

The next thing I know is the now blaring screech of New York traffic, cars honking loudly, tires squealing, people shouting, and the radio in Oliver's car blasting like a radio at one of Dad's house parties. The Avengers Tower looming over us as Oliver pulls up in front of the building, helping me out of the passengers side, and dragging me into the elevator.

Everything is like a weird nightmare that's haunting me or maybe a lucid dream of sorts that is actually real life. Pepper is strangely absent from the living room but Dad's pacing in front of the elevator door and stops the moment the door opened. Nat sits on the couch, Clint Barton at her side while Steve Rogers stands stationary in the living room.

Oliver nudges me forward, and I do. Stepping from the elevator, I am immediately aware of Dad taking my wrist and pulling me away from Oliver as if I'm gonna jump his bones or something. Although slightly offended that he'd think I'd do something like that, or actually wouldn't trust me to be alone with Oliver who I consider a friend is really rude.

Plus, I'm not the girl that'll give it up in the back of some trashy old car like I've been on my back a thousand times before and need to spice up my love life. Not that I've ever even had a love life, but that's kinda the point. Oliver steps towards me but Dad wheels on him, pointing at him with a sort of protectiveness shining through his usually steel exterior.

"Stay back Lover Boy," he growls, effectively leading Oliver to take a step back.

Forcing my uneasiness aside, I pipe in. "Hey, we're not together and I don't know what you think we were doing, but whatever it was you can be assured that it is absolutely wrong."

Dad looks back over at me, eyes narrowing. "I know all about being a teenager, I was one and—"

Covering my ears, I shake my head like a child throwing a tantrum. "No, no, no, whatever you're going to say, don't. The reason Oliver and I took so long was because we found this plastic surgeons office. He has connections with HYDRA and now I know what exactly it is, a woman working for them went and got some sort of work done."

"This—" he motions between me and Oliver. "Isn't over yet. We'll discuss it later."

Steve steps in, taking over the conversation to lead it away from wherever Dad was leading it. " Uh-huh, but at the moment we need to know what you do. Who is this person and how do you know they have connections with HYDRA?"

"When we went to that press conference, the one about Toby," I wait for Dad to nod in understanding. When he does, I continue. "I left the stage because I was going to be sick. Well when I was leaving the bathroom, I saw a woman dressed in all black wearing a similarly colored veil. Well when she left she dropped a business card with the name Dr. Christopher Quin and a number _$165,000.00_ written on the back in pen."

Oliver watches too, intrigued but seems intimidated by all the Avengers around.

"Well, when Oliver and I managed to escape the school, I realized that the street we were on—" Dad cuts me off, already knowing where I was going with that sentence.

"—Was the same street the address for this doctor had on the card, so what'd you find?"

"All the files on patients were online, but I got the IP address that will be needed for remote access but I have a name. Emersyn. Her name was Emersyn Pierce," Steve looks up at this, "daughter of Alexander Pierce. The money was wired to Dr. Quin's bank account anonymously and because there's not evidence of a transaction, it can't be traced back."

Suddenly something in the back of my mind clicks into place, about the words on my wall, and the name I just found from those files.

 _Forever Sounding Symbols_

 _Fo **RE** v **E** Sou **N** ding S **YM** bol **S**_

 _ **EMERSYN**_

That freezes me in place, something else is hidden in her name and I know it, but I just don't have the next piece needed to fit into the puzzle. Adding on to the fact that my mother may be alive also impacts this as well. Obadiah is there and Logan is someone else too, everything right now is all so confusing. Nat stands up and drops on the couch beside me, probably thinking about what happened when she Rae, and I went on a late night adventure some time ago.

There's also The Ten Rings, the dog tags, files on Alexander Wallace, and who knows what else that's looming on the horizon. Dropping my head back, I feel my eyes get heavier and heavier and as the rest of them just let me start falling into a dreamless sleep, a sharp piercing scream erupts. The room comes alive and I shoot up from the couch like a bat out of hell.

It was Pepper's voice, that much I know for sure and as I follow behind Dad, Steve, and Nat, I can't help but feel fear pooling in the pit of my stomach, hoping that she only saw a spider although knowing that was most likely _not_ the case. As we near baby Toby's bedroom, I can feel dread filling the fear in my stomach and I want to be sick.

From fear for the safety and well being of Toby as well as for Dad and Pepper because if anything happened to Toby it'd surely kill them, but from something that cuts me much deeper than that, guilt. Guilt for my resentment and hatred of the child and disgust and hatred at myself for the slight thrill that shutters through me at the though of him being gone forever.

Pepper stumbles from the bedroom, shaking like there's an earthquake in progress. Her eyes are wide, wild like a horse before it's broken by the trainer. Tears trail down her face, staining it in wet streams down her rosy cheeks. Clutching onto Dad's arm, she wraps her arms around him, burying her face in her shoulders as sobs emanate from her.

She tries to speak, whispering so low that I can only catch a couple of words here and there.

"...Gone," she mumbles, her voice garbled and rough from crying. "Toby... gone..."

I think my heart stopped beating as the guilt multiplies about a thousand times, swallowing me whole.


	21. Behind Closed Doors

_Chapter Twenty-One: Behind Closed Doors_

 ** _It took me a bit to figure out what the hell I wanted to happen next, naming these chapters is the struggle guys, always gotta make sure it plays along with the actually information within. Anyways, as you already know, we've gotta be getting pretty close to the end, I mean chapter twenty-one? There'll be at least in thirty but I'm not sure up to what number. All I know for sure is that I know how this story is gonna end and what's in store for the next. Now that that's out of the way, be sure to favorite this story, and comments never hurt!_**

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The mood of everyone in the power has been pulled from the room like a doctor with a needle drawing blood from a typical school functioned Blood Drive. Pepper went to their bedroom to try to sleep while he, Steve, and Nat included set out to try to find Toby or anyone associated with HYDRA, or the Emersyn who I presume was the Woman in the Black Veil.

However, that didn't stop him from warning me about doing anything alone with Oliver and that JARVIS would tell him anything that happens between us while we're here, nearly alone. Rolling my eyes, I lead Oliver to my room and motion for him to sit down on my bed, ignoring how his eyes scan over the dark purple walls and all the odd items pinned to my walls.

Flipping open my laptop lid, I immediately begin hacking into the system from Dr. Quin's computer to gain access to the files he had. While I was looking through the information of Emersyn Pierce, I noticed that they had a few files under lock and key and I want to know why and what those files contain. Probably an overview on the procedure and what work she had done.

"Panic, what are we currently sure of when it comes to Obadiah Stane and this HYDRA organization crisis?" Raven's voice sounds, emotionless as always.

I jump in my chair, spinning around to face her. A smile overtakes my face as I shoot forward, pulling her into a tight hug before she slowly pries my arms away. "Okay, so I found out the Emersyn Pierce, the daughter of Alexander Pierce, the former leader of HYDRA, went through some kind of plastic surgery and that she must have taken baby Toby."

"Where's Sierra?" Oliver asks, speaking for the first time since we arrived at this tower.

Rae glances over at him, her emerald eyes practically glowing. "I returned her to your home after she passes out when the power in the gymnasium went out. If you would like, I could go retrieve her, bring her here."

He glances between the two of us, then shakes his head. "No. It's probably better for her to be as far from this as possible."

Oliver rises and takes his place to my left while Sierra looks over my right shoulder at the computer screen in front of me as I'm busy hacking through the never ending firewalls. Finally I crack into the final one that bounces around like a ping-pong ball, but the moment I do, we've just gained access to all the files, even those Dr. Quin kept locked up.

An in depth analysis of Emersyn mental status and personality describe her as a cold, distant woman and that while he doesn't know if the procedure would be the best thing for her mental heath, he doesn't believe it should do too much harm so long as she can remember who she is after all the work has been completed. It also says that she didn't have a close relationship with her father who was never really around and that she only saw once a month, for about ten minutes.

She was also shipped off to boarding schools all across the world, far enough away so that he couldn't always visit her on a whim and that while growing up her father rarely showed her any sort of affection. HYDRA probably considers those things are giving way to weakness and that's not something that they can be on board with, not with their terrorist agenda.

"Alexander Pierce must have wired the vast amount to funds to this Dr. Quin right?" Rae asks, looking over all the transactions that I managed to locate, none of them connecting it to a single source. "It would make the most sense."

While I agree that it does, HYDRA never was about making the most logical and sensible choices, that's what they want us to think. "Yeah, but HYDRA isn't always about doing things that make sense."

At that I scroll down on the browser until I see images of her before the procedure, a scowl always present on her face, then the next set of her during the operation, blood and everything, but before I get the chance to see the last one, I glance back at my friends.

Oliver watches us banter back and forth about possible motives and what they could be planning before piping in with an idea of his own. "Maybe taking your baby brother was a distraction."

Both Rae and I twist around to face him as he goes on with his thought, considering it is the theory that makes the most sense.

"I mean think about it," he motions to the files on my computer screen. "If they took your brother, they would know that your dad would go search for him with the other Avengers that were here and if they already knew that you would be coming here to tell him, they might have had Obadiah Stane attack you at the school and tell you that so you'd come back and tell him so while instead of watching Toby, he'd be worried about you in a school with no power."

The blood running in my veins freezes like ice, that actually makes a hell of a lot of sense. Obadiah said it was a warning from HYDRA but I knew he was dead for so long that if I were to see him, I would surely confess to my father all that's been happening as of late. Making the perfect opportunity while he was confronting me for someone to sneak in and steal baby Toby from his crib.

Especially considering this tower is so big that the likelihood of noticing right away would be very slim. Dad would go after his son and Steve would go to find an innocent child and to add along with already having it out for HYDRA, and Nat would go simply because it's the right thing to do. Thus leaving the tower nearly unprotected.

As for why they would care that the house is empty is beyond me. I'm not of much value now that there's Toby around, who are they more likely to be considered for, a nearly eighteen year old who is only biologically related to Tony, or their baby that shares both of their DNA. I think the answer is pretty damn obvious, but clearly they must need something from the tower.

The lights overhead flicker, sending us all on alert. Whispering to Rae and Oliver, I tell them to hide in my closet while I go investigate. Of course they refused, I just wanted it to be on record that I did tell them to hide somewhere. Slowly we creep toward my door when alarms ring as the power goes out. Only the door open before either of us get to it.

Someone dressed in all black, wearing a bullet proof vest, and a gas mask steps in, tossing a small cylinder shaped canister the spews out a white gas like someone spraying water from a hose out back. My eyes begin to burn as I cover my nose and mouth with my shawl but it's no use as the room begins to sway in and out of focus.

I get tunnel vision as the person steps towards me, while still conscious enough to understand what's going on, I stumble backwards, tripping over my bed and falling over to the other side of it, face pressing into the floor as my body gives out. It looks like a Halloween party in my room, smoke and fog all over, filling the darkness. I vaguely hear Raven shout my name before she falls to the ground, the smoke getting to all of us.

Desperately, I try to push myself up as the need to _fight_ burns deep inside me like a furnace, but I'm so weak, so tired. All I want to do is give into the darkness tugging at my body, telling me to just let go. The person yanks the shawl away from me and I fin myself spiraling further and further down until sweet relief washes over me, pulling me into the darkness.


	22. White Walls and Tile Floors

_Chapter Twenty-Two: White Walls and Tile Floors_

 ** _Here we go again, so last time Panic was kidnapped by someone while Tony, Nat, and Steve were gone and Pepper was asleep and wouldn't have been able to help much anyways. It's funny(ish) because Panic hasn't been kidnapped since the first story "A Girl Named Panic" so yeah, it's pretty crazy. Anyways be sure to favorite this story if you haven't already and leave a comment!_**

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 **Happy 4th of July everybody and if you're from another country that doesn't celebrate this day! Well, have a great day!**

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My head throbs like a jackhammer, my mouth feels fuzzy like someone slipped something into my drinks, my eyes are burning from the gleaming lights overhead, and I' strapped down to a freezing metal table with wheels. This has gotta be one of the worst ways I've woken up in a while, there was this one time when I still lived with Mom and my step-father and I decided that I'd rather sleep out back by the smelly dumpster that sat in the blazing sun all day then be alone in an apartment with him.

Now all I want to do is go home to the Avengers Tower, curl myself up into a little ball in the middle of my mattress, hold my knees in a fetal position, and just go back to sleep thinking that this whole thing is just one awful nightmare. Shifting beneath the three straps that wrap across my bust and around my waist, arms, I find that I can move my head from side to side.

Turning my head to the right, I can see the metal leg attaching the wheel to the bottom right side of the table by my foot. All the color of the room seems to have been sucked out when HYDRA got a new manager and decided that it was too lively in the room. I mean seriously, white walls, what the hell is up with that? White walls with tiles floors that are polished as if people don't walk across it everyday in their nasty ass shoes.

Even the tile floor is white, matching the color of the walls. It's an ivory shade of white like that of an elephants tusks, but no elephants had to be violently and maliciously murdered for the sake of gathering the ivory from it. Looking up, I see someone dressed in a dark black HYDRA uniform with a large AK-47 strapped across his back, and about two pistols holstered.

One around his hips, the other strapped around his thigh. An large cutting knife is hooking to his belt along with a few other pouches that contain other sort to things to keep me inhibited. Maybe so sort of drug to send me back into unconsciousness should I get out of hand, the agent above me, the one pushing the table, obviously knows I'm awake. I saw his eyes flicker to me a moment before shooting back up.

"Where the hell am I?" I croak out, my voice rough from lack of use.

"Silence," the HYDRA agent responds in a monotone voice. It's enough to confirm that he is in fact a _he_ because something it's hard to tell, especially considering how short hair is really in right now.

"Come on, you've gotta be just as bored as I am," I reply, completely ignoring his previous statement. "HYDRA's not exactly know for being all that fun, what with the whole world domination agenda they've got. Do you ever have like a field day, where like the head of HYDRA just rents a bounce house for all of you?"

"Enough..." he says, but I can hear the sigh in his tone. Like I'm an annoying fly buzzing around his head making that stupid noise and he just can't seem to smack it with a flyswatter.

"Fine. Can you at least answer me this one thing?" I ask and when he doesn't protest, I continue. "Where are you taking me. I mean obviously they told you to move me somewhere."

"You've been requested, I was asked to escort you to the laboratory. Which is where we are now."

Two large metal double doors are pulled open by someone on the the other side of the door. It smells like a dentists office with the same scary looking chairs that make me worried about my safety. In one of the Final Destination films, someone died in one those chairs and sure that was only a movie, but my life is surrounded in oddities and all things against the odds of typical occurrences.

In the center of the room, Obadiah stands beside the Woman in the Black Veil, her face still hidden beneath the lace. Eyes hidden beneath the black cloth underneath, he head directed towards the floor, her green eyes peaking out from two holes cut in the under cloth.

"Ah, it is great to see you again Panic. Welcome, what do you think of the place? I had input when we redesigned the building," Obadiah said, faces crinkling as he flashes a warm smile my way.

"It makes me want to throw up just to add some splash of color to the place," I retort, narrowing my eyes at him. A scowl overtaking my features, my lip curling in disgust.

Obadiah's smile doesn't even falter, his blue eyes look up at the ceiling like he's in agreement before falling back down and landing on my face. "I agree, the plain white wasn't my idea. A little too bland for my taste."

"No wonder you're just about as interesting as a pack of Saltine crackers."

Amusement flashes across his face before it vanishes just as quickly as it appeared. "You really do take after Tony, astounding really. Considering how vastly different your childhood was to his. Yet you've got much of his humor and sarcasm. Truth be told, it's not the most likable trait."

"Where is he...?" I finally ask the question that's been burning my from the inside out. "What did you do with Toby?"

Erupting in laughs, Obadiah braces a hand on his knee for dramatic effect before pulling himself together. "He's safe. I'm surprised you cared enough to ask, but he's a lot safer than you are."

"How are you alive?" I ask again.

This time he smirks. "There's a lot of things that HYDRA has been able to do. Asking that would imply that I was dead, no, after the Arc Reactor was overloaded by Ms. Potts, or I guess it should be Mrs. Stark now would it? Nonetheless, the energy blast didn't kill me, it shoot me off the building and I was submerged beneath the water, drowning and bleeding out. Until I was rescued."

He pauses, looking off into the distance as if reliving the experience.

"HYDRA saved me that day, healed me, gave me a reason to live, and now I am ready for my revenge and HYDRA is ready for their victory. As for you darling, I sorry that you're going to have to be a pawn in our little chess game. Your mother wouldn't have liked this, if you cooperate, there may be a position in HYDRA engineering department for you. I know you gained he Stark Intelligence, it serves you well to allow a deal to be made."

Scoffing at him, I roll my eyes. "As if! There's no way I'd ever work for HYDRA, Hell would have to freeze over before there would even be a 1% chance of me ever joining you!"

He sighs, shaking his head sadly. "Unfortunate that your genius will have to go to waste. You'll never get out from the shadow of Stark Industries, and if Tony Stark thought it hard to live in the shadow of his father genius, how hard must it be for you. Living in your fathers greatness, the man who graduated MIT at 17 while you're gonna be 18 and not even out of high school."

Obadiah leans closer to me.

"Your father built the Iron Man Armor in a cave in Afghanistan, without any of his standard equipment, created a miniaturized arc reactor in the same cave. What accomplishments could you ever achieve that could make a man like him proud? Nothing, that's what and you know it. I, on the other hand, am already impressed by you skill and cunning, as is HYDRA. Don't squander this opportunity."

My heart aches heavy in my chest as I try to keep those words from stinging me, to keep my mind from clinging to those words like fact, as if Dad himself had said them to me. Even if it's true...

"Never...!"

"I have a feeling that this," he pulls out a syringe with a azure blue liquid in it with an inch long needle aimed at the vein in the inside of my elbow. "Will certainly give you a need outlook on things."

I'm just about to protest when he inserts the needle and presses the plunger on the end and I watch as my vision blurs and darkness eats away at my view on the world as everything vanishes from my grasps, reality gone from sight.


	23. A World Away

_Chapter Twenty-Three: A World Away_

 ** _This chapter is gonna be interesting because it is entirely in Raven's POV with what happens after the gas that knocked them all out and what is going on with Oliver, Natasha, Steve, Tony, and her on the other side. Be sure to favorite, and leave comments and next chapter we'll be back with Panic's POV which is gonna be really interesting!_**

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 **Raven's POV:**

A low groan escapes me as I slowly recount what has transpired within the last twelves hours until the final memory falls upon me like a bucket of ice water being dumped over my head. Glancing around the bedroom frantically, I notice Oliver laying flat against the floor, face down, head resting on a fluffy purple rug at Panic's bedside, but soon find myself unable to locate the woman in question.

Whoever the person beneath the gas mask and dark drapes was, clearly they arrived at the tower with the same ploy in mind that Oliver himself had speculated, dutifully waiting idly by until Mr. Stark and the other Avenger went off in search on infant Toby. Choosing then as the most tactical opportunity to strike, when there would not be any aid available and when the three of us would be off our guard.

Crossing the floor, I knee at Oliver's side, nudging his back a couple of time before he groans, one eye opening to glance up at me. Slowly he seems to recount his memories much like I had before shooting up on his feel like a rocket. He yawns, stretching his arms out, before rubbing his eyes. He scans the room a moment, absently running a hand through his skater styled brown hair.

"What the hell just happened?" Oliver asks, voice garbled from the knock-out gas I presume as well as the lack of use within the last three hours.

"I am not sure," I answer honestly. "All that I am sure of is that your evaluation of the situation was in fact on point, that whoever come to the tower and knocked us out came to retrieve Panic for some purpose, and they took Toby as a means to do so."

"Do we have any idea where they took her?" Oliver asks, swaying slightly as he moves towards me.

Thinking it over, I cannot conclude a single location specifically but do know that it would most likely be a location where a HYDRA base would be stationed. "We do not, but it would have to be a base located somewhere relatively close. HYDRA would not be able to send Panic to far from New York City in the few hours we have been unconscious."

Oliver shifts his weight onto one foot before brushing past me and taking a seat in front of the laptop Panic had open. He runs his fingers over the mouse pad until the screen comes back up.

"Do you think something in these files might give us a clue of where they might have taken her?" Oliver asks, eyes focused on the screen in front of him.

"It is possibly, highly unlikely considering that Dr. Quin may not have been aware of Emersyn Pierce's connection to HYDRA. He may have known the operation was for some type of illegal purpose but not necessarily the full extent."

"Hey Raven..." Oliver says, voice sounding off like he is attempting to solve a rather complex puzzle and is having trouble believing the outcome of it. "Is it just me or does this person look familiar."

Raising an eyebrow, I step to the computer. Mind blanking as soon as I see the after I see the images that he was speaking of, my eyes widen and immediately I know that we have to find Panic, as soon as possible.

"JARVIS," I call to the AI, looking up at Panic's ceiling despite knowing that it is not actually a person or being that one would be able to see.

"Yes Miss Raven?" JARVIS asks, British accent as thick as ever, despite the fact that it is a computer and not actually someone who could have gained a natural accent.

Suddenly realization dawns on me, my mind has always been like a chess board and when I really focus specifically on Panic, I am able to pinpoint a relative location as to where she could be. When we get closer to the location, I should be able to use my mental map to find her.

"Please contact Mr. Stark for me, an incident has occurred here at the tower and I need to inform him of it as well as a few things of concern that might be on interest for him," I order the AI.

"Of course Miss," JARVIS complies with my wishes while Oliver seems to dislike the idea entirely. As though Mr. Stark might blame him for Panic's disappearance which he may very well do. He is sort of out of his mind from time to time, I would not be surprised what he would do or say or even come to the conclusion of, but it is too late now to change my mind.

"This better be important," I hear the familiar sound of Mr. Stark's voice, filled with the same annoyance and sarcasm that Panic usually expresses in her tone.

"I would not interrupt if it was not, first I feel that it is my duty to tell you that someone broke into the tower and—" before I can finish the statement, Mr. Stark cuts me off.

"My tower! Where everyone is at, what the hell? JARVIS, why didn't he tell me? Is everyone alright, where's Panic, how about Pep?"

"Yes, someone is dark clothing and a gas mask took out the electricity in the tower and took Panic, but I might be able to find her. HYDRA used Toby's kidnapping as a means to get you and the other two Avengers to go search for clues as to where they could be, but we have a much bigger problem to worry about. You need to get back as soon as possible."

"They took Panic? So not only has HYDRA broke into my tower twice now, they've kidnapped not one, but both of my kids? What about Pepper, is she still there or did they take her too?" he asks, voice oddly but understandably quiet.

Feeling the chess board in my head, I detect her location on one of the upper levels. "Mrs. Stark is still present, but we have many pressing matters. I am able to sense Panic's aura and from that we may be able to find her. Oliver and I found something on this Emersyn Pierce that may be of interest to us."

"Yeah..." he trails off before seeming shaking his head to wake himself up, at least I am assuming. "Yeah, I've just told Captain Spangle Tights and Little Annie what you told me, we'll be there soon."

"Excellent, you had better hurry because if what Oliver and I are seeing on this computer screen is actually proof of what they have done and are planning to get Panic to comply with HYDRA for whatever nefarious purpose, let me just say that it will not be good."

"Okay, see you soon Bride of Frankenstein," the line goes dead as I roll my eyes in a most uncharacteristic way. I have been spending too much time with Panic, but at least the coughing up of blood has deceased, for now at least. I know something much bigger is wrong with me than so menial sickness, but what Panic will be facing shall be much worse.

I just hope that we do not arrive to come to Panic's aid before it's too late, I just hope she has not fallen for their ploy. It will destroy her world once she realizes what they have done. She has just barely managed to accept the truth as it is. _Please do not be allow yourself to be deceived so easily Panic..._ I think to myself, casting once last glance at the laptop screen and the face looking back at me.


	24. Under the Rainbow Sun

_Chapter Twenty-Four: Under the Rainbow Sun_

 ** _Last time Panic didn't appear at all because Raven was the main focus and found something in those file images of Emersyn after the procedure, but now we're going to see what happened after Obadiah injected that blue liquid into her and trust me, this is gonna be interesting. Be sure to favorite this story if you haven't already and tell me what you think of this chapter and the series/story in general in the comments below._**

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A warm summer breeze brushes through my long red hair, sweeping it along with the air current as the same gust washes delicately over my porcelain skin. There's a salty sea-side sort of scent infused in the air. I force my eye open, ignoring the burning sensation that erupts behind my eyes as they try to adjust to the bright shining of the sun blazing overhead.

Caribbean blue water crashes softly against nearly white sand covered coastline. Just off to my left I see a large, wooden dock— eloquently crafted— designed with spiral carvings and special symbols written in some language I don't understand. Beside the dock is a large white sailboat that's been docked and from this distance, I can only see one word in English. _Transcendence._

It's only in that moment do I realize that I don't remember what I was worried about, who I was running from, where I even am. All I do know is that I feel relaxed for the first time in a very long time. There's a few names that hold some meaning for me, but my mind is unable to connect them to who the people are. Feeling stirs deep within me at the thought of these names, but it doesn't register.

 _Toby...?_ A sort of jealousy, bitterness, and anger swirls through me, I don't understand it. _Raven...?_ Fondness, appreciation, and protective instinct that rolls through me, like this person needs my protection. _Oliver...?_ Nervousness, a jittery sort of feeling, like I'm afraid to embarrass myself in front of him, or like I'm hiding feelings of sort from him everyday.

Among those three names that stir familiarity, there's another that I know who they are, why they're important, but can't seem to recall any specific memories about the person in question. Tony Stark. All that I know for sure is that he's my father, that I got my brains and intelligence from him, but I don't have any memories of him that can flash across my thoughts. That bothers me.

I'm afraid of... disappointing him, or being a failure that I have always felt like I was. Those I can tell how hard I've tried to shove those feelings down and tried to conquer them.

Rising from the dark blue reclining lounge chair, I turn to see a large beachfront home, elevated high enough so that incoming tides won't wash the building away in one go. A marble staircase leads up where the house sits above the sand, leading to the patio attached at the houses side. A sliding glass door is positioned in the center of the houses side.

Instincts tell me to climb the steps and investigate the inside of this house, it's like some part of me that's been locked behind a soundproof wall and is banging against the glass and screaming in fury to be heard, heard by me and I can't. There's a part of me missing, that's coming from my lack of relative memories, like why am I here and how did I get here in the first place?

 _A needle, blue liquid inside... Coming towards me, aimed at my vein._

Shaking my head of the image, I look up to examine the room I've just stepped into. The inside of the house is larger than anyone would imagine by just glancing at the outside. To either side of me there's a long hallway that leads farther into the home, but further forward is where a living room type of setup seems to be. A large plasma screen TV has been bolted to the wall on the right by a large arching window.

There's a black leather couch with three seats facing the TV screen and a rocking chair adjacent to it. A beautiful glass coffee table on a sleek black base rest in front of said couch and deeper into the living room and where the back of the couch faces, in a miniature in-home bar. Another feeling stirs within me, _I hate alcohol._

My voice... That's my voice in my head, but I didn't think it, at least I don't think so. Maybe the part of me that's trapped is still trying to find a way through and has succeeded, slightly.

 _Wrong, something is very wrong..._

High heels click loudly against the wood floors and the voice in my head goes silent as I slowly turn to face the stranger standing behind me. My eyes widen in surprise when I see the face, I'm not sure why though. She flashes a wide, toothy smile.

"Now Panic, what have I always told you about consuming mind-numbing substances?" she asks, her voice light and cheerful like nothing can ever go wrong in her world. Shrugging my shoulders bashfully, I look down at my floral designed flip flops.

"I-I don't remember..." I shift my weight on one foot.

She give a light-hearted laugh before brushing her straight, shoulder-blade length red hair back over her shoulders as she smiles at me with rose pink lips. Her emerald eyes glittering like diamonds under the sunlight. She catches my chin in her hand and gentle urges me to look up at her and I comply. Seeing the beautiful face of my mother, Vanessa Wallace, the woman who could be a model.

Her face is free of any makeup and she still looks amazing like she was wearing it, in fact, I honestly believe that putting makeup on someone as beautiful as my mother would probably be a disgrace to her in general. As I stare up at her, an image flashes through my mind. It's still her I see, but this time there's dark purple rings under her eyes, her red hair is tied back in a sloppy bun, her porcelain skin is black and blue, and a sad smile on her bloody lips.

As soon as I latch on to the image, it's gone. She's back to looking flawless like I'd always remember from my youth, leaving me more confused than I was to begin with.

"It's bad for the mind," Mom taps my forehead lovingly before moving down to point at my heart. "And it's bad for the soul. Don't want to ruin the good before it has the chance to blossom now would we?"

A smile and a small laugh escapes me and she smiles in response.

"I've missed you so very much Panic," she whispers to me, sincerity seeping through every word. "I've been real busy trying to change the world. The thing is, I couldn't stand to spend one more moment without you."

"I..." my eyes narrow slightly. The rest of the words come easily because they're absolutely true, I feel tears prickling my eyes. "I missed you too."

"Come here," Mom says, pulling me into her and I comply without any hesitation, ignoring the part of me that's telling me to back away. It doesn't matter, the voice me doesn't matter because I'm home. With my mom like I should've always been. Even as I try to fall into what feels like the closet thing to what my home should be, what my life should feel like, it's still off.

She's screaming, that part of me behind the glass wall in a blazing mixture of anger, hurt, loneliness, confusion, longing, jealousy. Then there's the good things like: independent, passionate, friendly, confident, and trustworthy. Inside myself, I can feel her, the real me. She's a girl who thinks she's too broken to be fixed, that she is replaceable, that she isn't worth the effort, and in reality, she's scared of what it means if she lets everyone prove her wrong.

Brushing her beneath the rug, I try to live in this moment and forget whatever is real, stop thinking about what I've forgotten because whatever this is, it has to be better that what's real. Because she, the other part of me suffers from the reality. Wrapping my arms tight around Mom so that she can't vanish into thin air, I can feel her tightening her own around my waist. She presses her cheek lightly against the top of my head and sways me side to side.

And then my thoughts catch up, and not the me that's blocked by something, but this part says three words that stick in my mind like a needle in the foot.

 _Something feels wrong..._


	25. Concrete Walls

_Chapter Twenty-Five: Concrete Walls_

 ** _I know I've haven't been updating as much lately and I'm sorry but I've been dealing with some issues with my eyes and I still currently am and do not plan to risk my eyes for writing online but I will try my best to post when I can. If I find that I am unable to do so, I'll either post an authors not explaining what would have happened, or give the Panic series away, I already know who it would go to if it comes to that, but for now enjoy this next chapter and I'm really sorry..._**

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 _I'm sitting at on a plain black leather couch in a large open room, a Christmas tree glitters in a beautiful kaleidoscope of colors, ranging from red to blue, to green like the 4th of July, the only exception is that it's December, it's freezing outside, and the usually bustling city of New York has fallen into blissful silences. A blanket of snow coats the city, hiding all the tragedy and ugliness._

 _Boxes and boxes of presents wrapped in seasonal wrapping paper to make the sentiment rests beneath the decorated tree on the bright red tree skirt. For me it isn't about the presents, it's about family. Being with the ones you love and the ones who love you back just the same, if not more so. Dad wanted to hire someone, a professional to decorated the tree, I refused._

 _This holiday isn't about perfection. Not meant for someone, some stranger to roam around our home as he decorate a tree that is more symbolic when it's the family who does it. There where many years when Mom worked late and I was alone while Ian was out getting drunk again and would disappear for hours and the small little pine tree they got would sit, empty._

 _Not a single decoration in sight, Mom couldn't afford to buy one of those big classic trees like those on the movie Holiday Inn, but even that tiny little tree meant more to me because there was heart, meaning, love behind it. It's not about being flashy enough to draw the attention of a magazine or celebrities. For me the holiday was about family and friends who've always been by your side._

 _For the people who are willing to risk everything for you and maybe I'm a naive little girl to think that, especially with Dad's high life. I know he didn't have the same experience with the heartfelt meaning of the holiday that I do. From what I know about Tony Stark, my father, his life, holiday's were the time where he'd drink himself into oblivion to escape the hellish reality he lived._

 _Since he found out about me, my past, my life, my step-father, since he's seen the real me, I've noticed change. He still drinks, but not nearly as much as he did before. He's sober more often than he's not and he always asks me how my day at school was, what's new in my life, he doesn't lock himself away in the lab for quite as long and the few times he does, he has JARVIS check in on me, just to keep tabs on me._

 _Just to know I'm safe. And then the shock heard around the world, Pepper's pregnant. Surprise, surprise. I remember my mind drawing a blank, nothing would come to my mind. What was I supposed to say? Dad took it better than I thought he would, he was shocked like I was, but he smiled. A real smile that lit up his whole face and he grabbed Pepper around the waist and spun her around in circles._

 _He wasn't excited like that when he found out about me, wasn't glad that I existed. It was like he wanted to go back in time and undo everything, to go back and make sure I wasn't conceived to begin with but I shove the bitter feeling down and black it out of my mind. I'm over it, or at least I need to try to be. I'm going to be eighteen in four months._

Suddenly the scene changed, cracked like someone hit a TV screen and it just shattered. Out from the darkness left in the remains is another taste of familiarity that I can't quite place.

 _All I can smell is the charred remains of burned wood, all I can see is the black smoke stains across the walls of the apartment. The floors are soaking with water used by the firefighters to put the inferno out. The entire apartment complex was covered in yellow tape, I had to wait until the police cars left and the fire trucks and ambulances retreated back into the depths of the night._

 _Rain pours down like God's trying to flood the world again, there's a chill in the air and an eerie feeling that consumes the tone as I crawl through a shattered window on an abandoned warehouse beside my apartment complex. Scurrying through the alleyways, I duck under the yellow warning tape and swerve around the side of the building where the fire escape rests._

 _My fingers curl around the metal bars and pull myself up and crawl across the meta platform on all fours until I reach the stairs. Getting to my feet, I grab the railing and propel myself upwards until I stop outside the window to my bedroom. First I try to pull the window up, but it seems that I must have locked it. Next I kick my foot through, wincing at the loud shattering of glass the spews onto my bedroom floor._

 _Crawling carefully through the window, I'm careful to not let my feet touching any of the shattered glass, the last thing I need is a trip to the emergency room. It was hard enough to escape the agents of Child Protective kept asking me a million and one questions, it was super annoying. When they were talking, I prayed that a meteor would come down and crash into the car we were in just so I wouldn't have to listen to them for another minute._

 _Immediately fleeing the room, I make a beeline down the hall and stop at the charred black room that my mother was is and watch as the memory of flames come to life. Circling the bed like a raving monster, her leg propped up on the bed, totally immobile._ _My fault..._

The images again shifts before my eyes, to the point where all I can see is the roaring blaze of red and orange and all I can hear is the cracking of fire as it eats through the cheap wood and insulation of the apartment we lived it. Everything was so confusing, I clutch my head and force my eyes shut and that's when I see her, me, trapped behind an invisible wall.

"Let me out..." she mouths to me, banging her fists against the barrier.

"How?" I ask.

She nods at me, then points at her head, mouthing. "It's all mental. A liquid to keep me trapped, you need to break this." She bangs against the invisible wall again and then steps back as I move forward. A scream rips out from me as my arms collide with the barrier and that's when I see the cracks showing as a golden glow shines from the fractures.

I hit the barrier again and suddenly the golden light consumes me as I feel someone take my hand, me, that me, she takes my hand and pulls me into her and it's like a merger, like we're two halves of the same whole. And suddenly everything is clear, memories flood through my subconscious like having that part of me broke the floodgate. I give in and let the other half join me in control until we become one.

"Panic, sweetie, I made some lunch for you."

My eyes open and everything make sense. She's not my mother, my mother is dead, I saw her die.

The impostor rounds around the couch towards me, holding a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich on it. She smiles a little to tensely, widely. Her eyes don't hold the same gleam that my mother would have.

"Who are you!" I shout, jumping back. Watching as the smile falls from her face and a scowl take its place as the beautiful house on the beach falls away to reveal a dingy gray colored concrete warehouse with a similar layout of the beach house illusion that that blue serum Obadiah Stane gave me. A surveillance system above watches me.

She lunges forward and I dodge, kicking her leg out from under her. Her head smashes against the concrete wall, rendering her unconscious.

"You loose Obadiah Stane," I say, glaring at the camera as I rest a hand defiantly on my hip. "I want my baby brother back, now!"


	26. All in the Name of Love and War

_Chapter Twenty-Six: All in the Name of Love and War_

 ** _Here we go again, the net chapter in "Pandora's Panic Box" and I'm gonna be honest, I've been a little lazy as well so that also factors in to why this took me so long to write the next chapter. As always, be sure to favorite and leave comments! I'll try to post sooner for the next chapter, until then, enjoy chapter Twenty-six!  
_**

* * *

Kneeling down beside the unconscious impostor, I search her pocket for anything that could help me. Nothing seems to have stirred up the masses after I put myself back together, maybe Obadiah hadn't been watching the video feed at the time. If that's the case then I need to get out of here before he decides to check up on his little prisoner.

Anger roars through me, blazing like an inferno that rips through the forest during the dry months. Digging through the front right pocket, I pull out what looks like a small circular CD disk. Rising to my feet, I watch as the disk illuminates a dull cerulean blue glow that seems to shine brighter when aimed at the long hallway attached to the warehouse. Maybe it's a key that can be used as a map to lead me out of this place.

Following the glowing of the disk, I slowly edge my way down into the dark hallway leading me into another large room; however, this room is circular with a large, vintage chandelier hanging loosely over a burgundy carpeted floor. The disk fly's from my hands and lands in the center of the room where it is met by a cement column that lifts up from the ground and when it does, an opening for the device appears in its center.

The column consumes the disk with cement. The room rumbles shortly after, the ground feels like an earthquake and I desperately want something to grab onto for support or at the very least, something to cover my head with encase the roof caves in. A loud rumble that sounds like someone moving heavy block tiles fills the room and when a large square opening appears in the floor with stairs leading downward, that's when I know it's my way out.

Darting forward, I don't let any hesitation penetrate my consciousness. Now's now the time to quarrel over the details, I need to find Toby. That's my only priority. Maybe I don't have the fondest feelings towards my baby brother but he's a baby with a while life ahead of him and as for me, well if I die today, I've lived for nearly eighteen years and that's a hell of a lot longer than Toby.

The underground walkway is dark, dank, and smells of sewer water. I hold my breath and keep my eyes wide-open, even though the smell stings my eyes so intensely that it's making them water profusely. All that I knew for sure is that there was a glow of light in the distance and as soon as I reached it, my time will be up and the battle will be on.

As soon as I reach the end of the hallway, I climb a set of stair and reach forward in the darkness. My fingers brush across a freezing metal door. Shifting my weight forward, I push the door open slowly and peek my head around the corner. When I see no one in the area, I slip out from the door and start down the eerily silent hall until I look forward and see a flash of orange-red(ish) like my hair.

Narrowing my eyes, I step back. My heart pounds in my ear and I run forward, taking a left to follow the person that I thought I'd locked in that concrete room only to find the new hall empty as well. Then she appears, but this time she's not revealing herself, instead she is dressed back in the skintight dress with the veil that covers her face.

"What do you want now? A rematch is fun and all but you're gonna loose..." I say and just as I'm about to get ready for a fight she glides over, pulling me around the corner with our backs to the wall, covering my mouth with her gloved hand and restraining my arm with her own. Just as I'm about to scream and fight her with all my might, I see two HYDRA agents walk by, casually chatting about some unimportant thing.

The Woman in the Black Veil releases me and take a few steps back and that's when it hits me.

"You're not the same person as the woman in the warehouse with me, are you?" I ask in a hushed whisper, not wanting to catch unwanted attention from the HYDRA agents that could be roaming the halls.

She simply shakes her head and hold up her index and middle finger, telling me that they'e are two. Her and the woman who was pretending to be my mom. One of them, this one, was on my side, the other one wasn't and they both have dressed in this disguise.

"You're the one who wanted me to stay out of everything so HYDRA wouldn't be after me, but why are you here if you're against them?" I ask, my mind swelling with the need to understand.

The Woman in the Black Veil simply looks at me through the two holes cut in her veil.

Suddenly the answer whispers through my mind without the woman even having to utter a single word. The answer to my question is as obvious as 1, 2, 3 and it embarrasses me that I didn't already realize it before the question popped out."You were blackmailed..."

Another nod.

Louder voices fill the hallway on the other side, the hallway leading down to the corner of the next hall where we're hiding at. The Woman in the Black Veil's eye dart over before she looks directly at me with a silent message in her green eyes that rings as clear as day. _Follow me._

She spins on her heels and practically flies down the hallway in near silence while I hurry after her, attempting to at least remain quite so that I don't catch the attention of the HYDRA agents. Taking a right, I watch her black dress billow in waves behind her as she leads me through a maze of similarly colored hallways with absolutely no labels or signs to tell you where you're at.

I don't know what's with these secret agencies not having a building layout with signs for what number or rooms are down each hall, but they seriously need to get working on that. It'd certainly make my life a hell of a lot easier. The Woman in the Black Veil walks about ten steps ahead of me and still gaining speed as we stroll further into the depths of HYDRA's secret base.

All the lines on the wall seem to be zigzagged with thick black marking carved into the plain white walls, something that S.H.I.E.L.D. used to have before that place crashed and burned. Suddenly the though brushes across my mind like a swift kick to the abdomen. What happened to Rae and Oliver...? Obadiah Stane never mentioned taking them, but if they're still at my house, what about Dad? Does he even know I'm missing?

Does he even care?

 _ **Of course he does you idiot...!** Sounds a voice, but it take me a minute to realize it's not my own. No, it's Rae's. **We are on route to your location, try to keep yourself safe until we arrive. It is still a bit of time before we will be able to help.**_

 _Understood, now get out of my head!_

Raven's voice goes silent and the feeling of someone prodding around my head vanishes like it wasn't even there to begin with. The Woman in the Black Veil stops outside a large, overlooking golden colored door with a sleek wooden frame surrounding the outer area of it. She holds up a single index finger, pointing it at the door in front of her like I'm supposed to know what the hell that's supposed to mean.

Taking a spot beside her, I move forward, using all my strength, I push the door open and turn around to face the woman. Only to find that she has vanished and I'm standing all alone in a large, open room shaped like a cylinder. A skylight overhead allows a ray of white sunlight into the room, lighting the center where an ivory colored crib sits.

Small, stubby little hands wave in distress as the wailing of baby Toby fills my ears, and while under normal circumstances I'd be annoyed by this crying, all I can feel is the overwhelming sense of relief at knowing that he's alright. Crossing the floor, I look over the crib side to see the red faced, teary-eyes child with a short of affection and fondness washing through my veins.

 _Bang!_ The door slams shut. Turning, I see my mother—no, the impostor—sneering at me with distaste and hateful anger burning in her green eyes. What I don't understand is what she has against me, but at this moment, it doesn't matter. Putting my back to the crib, I glance over my shoulder once last time to see Toby who opens his little eyes to look at me, the crying subsided.

"Don't worry Toby, I'll protect you," I shrug, the feeling of protectiveness drowning me. "That's what big sisters are for, right?"


	27. Battle Lines Drawn

_Chapter Twenty-Seven: Battle Lines Drawn_

 ** _Here we go with the next chapter and sorry I took so long to finish this chapter up but I'm trying to figure out what was going to happen before I had to stop writing for awhile but nonetheless, we're getting close to the end of this story now! Never fear, there's still at least two stories for sure and I'm thinking another one after those three, like a grand finale sort of thing, but it's all in the works, nothing set in stone yet. Be sure to favorite if you haven't already and comments never hurt!_**

* * *

 **Third Person POV :**

 _Watching as Panic pushed the door to the room open, she slipped away soundlessly. It wasn't until she was far out of sight that she slowed to a steady but confident tread across the dull white tiles floor. No one could know what she has done to aid the child in question, otherwise bad thing would surely happen. Especially considering the connection to HYDRA as well as Obadiah Stane._

 _Perhaps if it hadn't be such a crucial time for HYDRA and their long-term goals, they may not have minded so much, well that i_ _s not quite true but they'd be much more lenient . That's all theory though and she didn't have the time to dwell on nonessential factors as such. There's much work she needs to do before everything hits the fan and first thing's first, she must make it too the Labyrinth beneath the facility before Obadiah notices her missing from the battle ground._

 _As for Panic, well, she can handle herself. At least for now. HYDRA isn't getting rid of her just yet, there's still far to much they can accomplish and they'd much rather break her first. Maybe Mr. Stark and Panic's little friends will get here before they get the chance to. For now though, Panic could keep the child and herself safe while she dealt with a more pressing matter._

* * *

 **Raven's POV:**

All the panic that has ailed me since the discovery of my closest friends abduction has subsided now that I know she is unharmed. Despite whatever was done to her by the one who kidnapped her, she has managed to pull herself back into one piece. That relieves me. I have already informed Mr. Stark of this and we will soon begin descent about a mile from the location where I can feel Panic being held.

Oliver sits next to me in the mini-jet thing that Mr. Stark designed, he is nervous. That much I can tell, considering he has never been on the front lines like I have since becoming Panic's friend all that time ago. Then again, I was not exactly normal considering my parentage and my supernatural abilities that gave me an edge when in danger.

However, Panic herself lacks any extraordinary abilities. Often relying on her wits and genius innovation to get herself out of a sticky situation. As for Ms. Emersyn Pierce, we have discovered that she was given a surgery to resemble Panic's deceased mother and after more digging we were also able to find records of modifications to her vocal cords to sound like her as well.

The real question nagging me though is why. Why would HYDRA go to all this trouble to trick Panic, unless she is just being used as a distraction... but nothing out of the ordinary sends my internal red flags flying so I am not a hundred recent sure that my hypothesis is accurate. All I know is that HYDRA is planning something big and we need to be there to stop it.

* * *

 **Panic's POV:**

 _Bang!_ The door slams shut. Turning, I see my mother—no, the impostor—sneering at me with distaste and hateful anger burning in her green eyes. What I don't understand is what she has against me, but at this moment, it doesn't matter. Putting my back to the crib, I glance over my shoulder once last time to see Toby who opens his little eyes to look at me, the crying subsided.

"Don't worry Toby, I'll protect you," I shrug, the feeling of protectiveness drowning me. "That's what big sisters are for, right?"

She sneers at me, turning her nose up at my words. "Yeah, but what happens when big sister is out of commission. Oh, he's at the mercy of whoever is on the opposing side. HYDRA has plans for you child, you're not going anywhere."

I narrow my eyes at her, taking a step forward in protectiveness for my baby brother.

Toby is my first priority, that all I know for sure is that my concern for his safety far outweighs mine. While maybe I didn't have the fondest feelings for him, he's still an infant with a life ahead of him. No matter what happens, I'll make sure that he stays safe. Even if it means my life will be the fine line that determines his fate, no matter what happens to me, I'll make sure he survives this.

Glancing around the room, I nudge the crib near the far back wall of the room. The woman before me seems to realize that I'm moving Toby out of the way as she allows me to do so without interfering. Stepping back into the rooms center, I watch her step closer. My first instinct is to outsmart her somehow, but all I can see is this woman with my mother's face, it rattles me.

"Why are you doing this? What's the goal here because maybe I'm not seeing the big picture here, but this seems like stupid plan if you ask me!" I shout to her, to Emersyn. "Is Obadiah pulling the strings?"

She tips her head back and lets out a low laugh. "You wish. He's a puppet just like the rest of us kiddo. There's a hell of a lot going on that you're not gonna be around long enough to see. Honestly," she pauses as if in deep thought. "You should be thanking me for the trouble of ending your miserable existence before the plan comes into effect."

She stops there, lunging forward. All I can see is the quick flash of light reflecting off a sleek metal blade in her hand.

I duck and roll out of her range but am just a tad too slow and she manages to recover from my ploy before I have a chance to get back up and scurry further from the blade she's holding. Emersyn's shadow looms over me, hiding the light overhead. Fury rages behind her fake green eyes, driving the small metal dagger down at me. That's it!

Kicking my foot out, it collides with her leg. She looses her footing and topples forward as I jump out of the blades way. It clatters loudly against the tiles floor and just as she reaches for it, I knock it out of arms reach. She leaps forward, landing on top of me and uses her legs to pin my arms down by my sides as she uses her arms to keep me steady.

She pull back her right arm and makes a fist, intending to throw a punch. I don't give her the chance.

Drawing my legs up to my chest and with as much strength as I can muster at the moment, I kick both feet forward into her stomach. Emersyn falls backward and I nearly crab-walk backwards to get some distance between us. Glancing back and forth between Emersyn and the knife across the floor, I try to decide my best course of action.

Emersyn pushes herself up on her knees and does the same thing. Think the same thing as me...

* * *

 **Third Person POV (Unknown Location):**

 _Silence stretched eerily across the nearly empty office aside from the sounds of the fight between Ms. Panic Stark and Emersyn Pierce playing on the small television screen. Panic is becoming a major problem, one that needs to be taken care of._

 _"Ma'am," a voice sounded behind her. Rising from her chair she turned, face still hidden by the shadows.  
_

 _"This better be important Agent..." she replies, emotionless. "You know what I could have done to you, I ask for complete isolation."_

 _The man tensed, muscles frozen like ice. "Y-yes ma'am, sorry. O-our agents have completes phase 1 and none of the Avengers have figured out the details of our—uh, I mean, your plan."_

 _She gives a humorless laugh. "Of course not. I'm much smarter than my dear daddy gave me credit for. Panic shouldn't be a problem after this," she turn back to watch the screen as the nameless guard lets himself out. "You're out of time Panic."_


	28. Maze of Warped Reality

_Chapter Twenty-Eight: Maze of Warped Reality_

 ** _Here we go again, so I've got the next few chapters titled, they just need to be written and then this series will be over! Then I'll start writing for the sequel which is "Hit the Panic Button" Anyways, here are the next few chapter titles: (Shattering Panic and Aftermath) *There may be one more chapter following but that's still only theory* So as you can tell, we're nearing the end and I am going to leave a big cliffhanger at the end of the final chapter so that's gonna suck for all of you... MWAHAHA!_**

* * *

 **Third Person POV:**

Raven stood at the edge of the hill side, watching the base with an inquisitive eye. She was waiting for the three Avengers and Oliver to catch up with her, she'd used her abilities to teleport to her current location. That was they're plan for getting inside HYDRA's base though, Raven just wanted to have a chance to examine the facility on the outside before a full scale invasion.

Subtlety is what they were going for, not rushing in with weapons blazing as they fight there way through an endless number of faceless HYDRA henchmen who no one would ever remember.

"N-next time would—would you please teleport me with you?" Oliver wheezed, leaning over. His hands were braces against his bent knees while his chest heaved and shook with every heavy breath taken.

Instead of responding, the raven haired girl simply shrugged her shoulders as she tore her dark green eyes away from the building before her to look at the boy standing at her side. "Where are the others?"

"They wanted to search the perimeter for any alarms or trip wires that might alert HYDRA to our arrival," he replied, voice wavering slightly. He straightened up and let his hands fall to his side as he took a closer look at the oddly plain looking building that apparently kept one of his friends trapped. Natasha Romanoff creeps up behind them, silent like a cat.

Neither seems to notice her arrival, at least not until she speaks. "There's a laser grid on the west side of the area, hidden under the foliage."

Oliver jumps ten feet in the air, biting him tongue to keep from shrieking in a very emasculating way. Wide-eyed, he turns to face Romanoff as he tries to play of her sheer surprise. _How embarrassing,_ he thinks to himself as he watch a glimmer of a smirk cross the former assassins face, but it's gone before he can fully confirm that it was there to begin with.

"Is there any good news?" Raven asks, her voice dry and monotone as usual. Her back is still to Romanoff, but she does through a her head back to glance at the woman over her shoulder.

"Yeah," Tony Stark replied, appearing out of nowhere, fully suited up in his Iron Man Armor. He held up a small device in his hand, it was shaped like a bracelet, or a watch depending on the wearers gender. He was trying to make a more compact device so it wouldn't be as easily spotted, it disrupted electric waves, the kind that powered the building as well as the camera's within the base.

"This with glitch the systems, we'll be able to get in without them knowing. They're computers shout cut in and out like as if there was a heavy thunderstorm, if that isn't brilliant than I don't know what is," Tony said, but continued when he saw that Romanoff was going to comment on the last part of his statement. "Not one word from you."

She only glares at him. Swiping the device from his hands, Romanoff slid the device over her hand and watched in hidden awe as the device glowed a dull purple and shrank to encompass her wrist. Tearing her eyes away from the device, she glances from Tony, to Raven, and to Oliver before asking.

"Where's Steve?"

"Right here, we need to get this rescue started," he replied, stepping forward. He was decked out in his flashy Captain America uniform that made him look like the American Flag threw up all over him. Steve Rogers pulled his helmet on over his head, securing the strap around his neck before turning to Raven and Oliver to give them their orders.

"Tony, Natasha, and I will go in through the back, we've found an underground network of tunnels that may help us discover who's pulling the strings. Raven and Oliver, the both of you will need to teleport into the control room and go through the past camera feed, it shouldn't be tampered by Tony's tech. We'll meet in the connecting hallway to find Panic, understood?" Steve asks, looking from face to face.

Everyone nods, parting ways. Raven turns to Oliver and grips his shoulder, eyes closer as she focuses her mind on the location she was told to appear in. The ground falls away and it's as if they're floating on air, or phasing like Kitty Pride from the X-Men, except with the added sensation of flying to boast the feeling. Oliver shutters at the chill that washes over him once they're inside the control room.

"That teleporting thing gives me the chills," he says, words falling on deaf ears as Raven's already planted in front of one of the computer screens. She's scrolling through the video feed of the last twelve hours, fast-forwarding through empty hallway scenes. Until suddenly she saw a flash of something, she switch the camera to another in the hallway with another angle.

Panic, she was following someone, the Woman in the Black Veil. Why would she be helping Panic? If she's a HYDRA agent then Panic _Stark_ would definitely qualify as a threat that needs to be eliminated, but yet here she is, alive. Practically unharmed, with the exception of some psychological and emotional trauma at the prospect of someone having plastic surgery to look like her deceased mother, then again, that would traumatize anybody.

Only minutes after Panic entered the room she was led to, the Woman in the Black Veil departs silently, never looking back. Raven and Oliver watch is silence watching in a time lapse of five minutes following the woman departure show the arrival of Emersyn lacking the same getup as the other woman. She looks just like Panic's mother, Raven notes. She enters the room, but Raven is unable to find any camera feed from that section of the building.

Deciding that Panic can take care of herself for a few minutes longer, she traces the Woman in the Black Veil, the one who is apparently on the good side of all of this. One thing that still puzzles her is that if this woman is kind enough to help out Panic in her time of need, why in the world would she be working for an organization like HYDRA? Raven doesn't realize she voiced her thoughts out loud until Oliver answers.

"Maybe she's not here by choice. HYDRA's known for evil doing's, maybe they have something against her or they have something that she wants or needs..." Oliver replies, voice so low that she barely catches his response.

"Perhaps," is all Raven says. She flips through one feed after another until she comes across the woman again. Watch her walk swiftly and precisely like a woman on a mission. _Oliver may have a valid point_ , she thinks to herself as her green eyes fix on the computer screen. The Woman in the Black Veil takes various turns left, left, right, left, right and so on until she reaches a small room that looks like a broom closet.

She types in a pass code and Raven and Oliver watch in astonishment when the floor opens to reveal a stone stairwell leading down into unknown darkness. The woman doesn't hesitate to begin her long tread down the stairs. The way she moves so confidently is a signal to Raven that the woman has walked this before, that whatever it is that HYDRA has on her is down in that room.

Flipping to the stairwell cam, Oliver leans closer to the screen. His eyes are wide as they listen to what sounds like a growing animal. Suddenly Oliver connects the sound, no, not an animal at all. Ragged breathing on something, someone who's in a lot of pain and is suffering in silence.

"That's why she's there," Oliver breaths. Raven glance over at him, an eyebrow raised in question. He elaborates. "That's someone breathing. HYDRA captured someone who's important to her, that's why she here working for them. To help whoever is at the end of the stairwell."

Just when the camera feed began to raise and they saw bloody white legs, the feed scattered. A fuzzy gray and black dot barrage taking over. Red lights flash as an alarm blares loudly, almost deafening.

"It appears we are out of time," is all Raven says in response, getting ready for the battle about to to unfold.


	29. Shattering Panic

_Chapter Twenty-Nine: Shattering Panic_

 ** _Okay so I'm just gonna say sorry about the wait on this chapter and the next one should be done pretty soon and their may be another chapter after thirty but I'm still not sure yet so we'll see by next chapter if the information stretch's that far. Maybe an epilogue that will lead into the next series for Panic._**

* * *

 **Last Time (with Panic):**

 _"Why are you doing this? What's the goal here because maybe I'm not seeing the big picture here, but this seems like stupid plan if you ask me!" I shout to her, to Emersyn. "Is Obadiah pulling the strings?"_

 _She tips her head back and lets out a low laugh. "You wish. He's a puppet just like the rest of us kiddo. There's a hell of a lot going on that you're not gonna be around long enough to see. Honestly," she pauses as if in deep thought. "You should be thanking me for the trouble of ending your miserable existence before the plan comes into effect."_

 _She stops there, lunging forward. All I can see is the quick flash of light reflecting off a sleek metal blade in her hand._

 _I duck and roll out of her range but am just a tad too slow and she manages to recover from my ploy before I have a chance to get back up and scurry further from the blade she's holding. Emersyn's shadow looms over me, hiding the light overhead. Fury rages behind her fake green eyes, driving the small metal dagger down at me. That's it!_

 _Kicking my foot out, it collides with her leg. She looses her footing and topples forward as I jump out of the blades way. It clatters loudly against the tiles floor and just as she reaches for it, I knock it out of arms reach. She leaps forward, landing on top of me and uses her legs to pin my arms down by my sides as she uses her arms to keep me steady._

 _She pull back her right arm and makes a fist, intending to throw a punch. I don't give her the chance._

 _Drawing my legs up to my chest and with as much strength as I can muster at the moment, I kick both feet forward into her stomach. Emersyn falls backward and I nearly crab-walk backwards to get some distance between us. Glancing back and forth between Emersyn and the knife across the floor, I try to decide my best course of action._

 _Emersyn pushes herself up on her knees and does the same thing. Thinking the same thing as me..._

* * *

 **Panic POV (Present):**

I kick up off the floor and skid across the polished concrete like a Olympic Medalist Ice Skater. My foot taps the handle of the knife sending it further out of reach of both Emersyn and me. Better to keep her from getting it then using it for my self-defense. Emersyn lunges at me and I roll our of the way, she smacks the floor and slowly rises.

Blood drips down her now busted up mouth. She spits out a way of blood before wiping her sleeve across her face. Just as I get to my feet and alarm blares like a siren in the dead silence. Red lights flash wildly across the room and Emersyn looks stunned, confused, frozen in fear it seems. I'm not sure what they alarm means, but it's distracted her.

Darting forward, I kick my foot out and knock it into her stomach. She sails backward, the back of her head smacking the floor with a resounding thud. I can feel the vibrations of her fall through the floor. Before she can recover, I've made my way across the floor where the knife skidded off too. I'm searching around frantically for it when she gets back on her feet.

Suddenly the alarm goes off and the light pictures overhead shatter like a supersonic wave just washed over the area, sprinkling the floor in sharp weapons that could impale the skin with ease. She lets out a cry of absolute rage as the room is thrown into complete darkness, and I still haven't found the knife. Her footsteps crunch beneath the shattered glass.

My fingers brush over the glass covered floor as I search blindly.

Emersyn gets closer and closer with every passing second, even moment wasted searching.

Her cries of fury ring loudly in my ears as a stampede would be heard in a crowd of people who lived in the African Safari. It was something as clear as day and as known as night.

My heart pounded rapidly, jumping my my chest as if trying to suffocate me.

Nothing seems to make sense anymore.

I need to live, though.

Baby Toby is counting on me.

 _Where the hell is it!?_

I feel the cool grip of a handle and don't hesitate.

My fingers curl around it.

Time seems to slow as she nears.

Closer, closer, and closer still...

I could practically feel her.

Her footsteps slowing slightly.

 _Now...!_

The thought rings in my head, the only beacon of sense that is left in me.

I spin, blade in hand.

Narrowed eyes, mind blank.

Lunging the blade forward.

Red.

In the dark I see it. Feel it. Smell it.

The world seems to be spinning around like a top.

* * *

 **Third Person POV:**

Natasha Romanoff closed the closet door behind her, locking it. She'd piled up all the HYDRA agents they'd taken out inside the base, well the one that hadn't escaped anyways. Captain America and Iron Man had met up with her along the way, now all they needed to do was find Panic and her two friends who were supposed to be in the control room.

They had just reached the door when Raven and Oliver bolted out, eyes as wide as half-dollar coins. Raven, who usually always kept her composure, looked just as rattled as Oliver who just found out about all of this.

"What happened?" Captain America asked, stepping towards Raven with an outstretched hand. She shook him off, and turned toward the hallway connecting to the one where they currently stood.

"Now is not the time. We must go retrieve Panic, Oliver and I know where she is; however, we have discovered that there are two Women in the Black Veil. One that warned and helped Panic and the other is Emersyn Pierce," Raven said, her stoic serenity falling into place.

"Two," Iron Man said, his face place lifting to reveal the face of Tony Stark. "There are two of those. Why would the other one help Panic?"

"We don't know," Oliver chimes in, deep in thought. "There has to be a reason, but whatever it is, she hasn't revealed it yer."

"Enough," Raven cuts them off. "Panic is trapped in a room with Emersyn, we must go help her."

Natasha Romanoff's kept her professional appearance. "And you're just now telling us. Let's go, she may be in trouble."

Down the hall they went, one after another until they reached the door that was a lot bigger than the monitor screen let on. Raven pointed at the door for the other to see.

"Panic is in there, the other woman sent her in there. The baby is in there as wall, no doubt Panic is protecting him," she said.

Iron Man and Captain America neared the door while the latter pushed the door from the bottom, the man in the flying suit pushed from the top. How Panic managed to open this without any help was beyond Raven and Oliver's understanding. Perhaps she was too focused of the safety of her baby brother to concern herself with the weight of the door holding her at bay.

Finally the door budged, inch by inch until finally, with all the force they had combined, launched the door back into the darkness. Light washes over the large, almost gymnasium sized room. Though she'd never admit it, Raven felt nervous, she could only feel two sources of life inside the room and she couldn't tell if it was Panic or Emersyn.

A figure sat on the floor of the room, coddling something in its arms. As the light continued its quest forward, they saw familiar red curls that looked as if they'd seen better days, falling down past the girls waste. Panic was the only one with hair that long, Emersyn copycat of Vanessa Wallace didn't have natural red hair that was as long as Panic.

As they neared, they realized that the thing she was coddling close to her chest was baby Toby who was wrapped up nice and tight in his sky blue blanket. Panic held him with the innards of her arm, he hands were colored crimson. Red with someone else's blood. Her voice trembled, that's when they realized she was singing softly to the child fast asleep.

 _"Hush little baby, don't say a word_

 _Sis is gonna buy you a mockingbird_

 _And if that mockingbird won't sing,_

 _Sis is gonna buy you a diamond ring,_

 _And if that diamond ring turns brass,_

 _Sis is gonna buy you a looking glass..."_

Panic was out of it, she didn't seem to register that they had arrived, all her mind could comprehend and focus on was protect the baby. Nothing else was important, it didn't matter and neither did she. Protect the baby.


	30. Aftermath

_Chapter Thirty: Aftermath_

 ** _Here we go, this is the final chapter,_ THERE WILL BE AN EPILOGUE _which will be chapter thirty-one and it will be a cliffhanger for the next story following called "Hit the Panic Button" It'll certainly be a great way to leave you all in a state of shock and annoyance at me for leaving you on the lamb like that but oh well... Anyways, be sure to comment and favorite if you haven't already and make sure to read the epilogue coming soon!_**

* * *

A man crouches down beside me, his face hovering inches away from my own. He looks familiar and the red and gold suit of metal looks sparks familiarity, but all I can see is the red hands kept away from the baby. He says a name, the man, Panic, I think it was. He addressed me by it. The name doesn't register right away, I'm too numb to think.

Then it clicks, that's right, that is my name. The name given to me by my... my eyes dart to the woman lying in a bloody heap on the floor, mother. That wasn't my mother though, I repeat over and over but it's not helping. Her red hair, similar to my own is stuck to her face from the drying blood. Her eyes are closes tightly, her skin pale like a bed sheet.

All I can see before me is what happened in those last few moments before... before something in me just snapped.

* * *

 **Flashback:**

 _Now...!_

 _The thought rings in my head, the only beacon of sense that is left in me._

 _I spin, blade in hand._

 _Narrowed eyes, mind blank._

 _Lunging the blade forward._

 _Emersyn jumps right into the sharp metal blade I've aimed out towards her. It sinks easily into her flesh and in an instant I can feel it. Red. The color red oozing from the blades entry, spilling over my hands like a river down the stream or water coming from a faucet. Staining my hands in its eerie horror, a sense of nightmarish hell awaiting desolation._

 _A worthless waste of hope as monsters of fantasy become reality. An all consuming succubus for the absolute shock of the potential outcome and onslaught that was to come. Then I looked up, I knew I shouldn't have. I knew that I should have kept my eyes at the floor or at least at the blade lodged firmly just below her rib cage where it penetrated the skin like the fangs of a snake._

 _My eyes shot up to look at her face, at the surprised, the disbelief, the fear, the horror at the realization of her impending demise. The face of my mother with a look like that directed at me, the source of her fate. Her red hair fell down over her shoulders, I saw the faint reflection of light down her cheek and froze when I realized it was a single tear shed in sadness._

 _It was all my doing, my fault that she's dying. Not your mother! I keep reminding myself, but it doesn't matter to my mind or my heart. She looks just like my mother, the woman who nurtured me for my young ten years until her death at someone else's hands. Something I blamed myself for for a very long time and this is just like loosing her again. Only this time it actually is my fault._

 _A pool of crimson blooded swirled around her feet, staining her shoes in it's color. It was like standing in the middle of a pool, except the depth wasn't as deep and it wasn't water, but blood instead. That's when I felt it happen. Something in me shifted, my mind stopped processing and everything seemed to spin, spiraling out of my reach until numbness fell over me._

 _I stumbled back, away from the the woman. She spat blood that got in her throat, that's when the life left her green eyes. Darkness fell over them, life drained. The knife sank out of her body with my movement, her body fell forward as my shaking hand dropped the blade. It clattered loudly against the concrete floor, splashing blood on my pant legs._

 _My body trembled as I stumble even further away from the body of the woman laying motionless against that cold floor, then my eyes scan the room at the sound of movement. The crib sitting close to the far wall draws me forward, I close the distance between the baby and I. Looking down fondly at it, I am careful not to let my bloody hands stain its blue blanket._

 _Worried that if I do, I'll contaminate him with some infection to make him do what I've done. I want his heart and soul to remain pure, untainted, like a_ _beautiful unfurling flower in the break of spring. Holding him with the innards of my arms, I lower myself down on my knees. Holding his warm little body against my chest as I lower my head, just barely touching the fuzzy blue hat on his own._

 _No matter what happens to me, I will protect him. Even if it kills me..._

* * *

"Panic, look at me," I hear his voice again, the same man as before. His name on the tip of my tongue, sliding away the moment I attempt to place an identity to his face. Even though I can't accurately place him in my mind, I feel at ease with this man, not nervous and glittery like I've got to keep my walls and guards up, like I can let him through most of my defenses without being left shattered in the process.

Before I can answer, a new voice chimes in from the doorway. Hurried footsteps racing forwards, towards me and the man. I'm still too out of it to fully comprehend what's happening.

"Tony! Panic!" her heels are loud against the hard floors. The sound bounces off the empty walls like she was using a megaphone instead. Didn't matter to me though, all I could do is watched the sleeping babies face. Resentment was a dull background to my solemn silence. Jealousy was there too. Why was I jealous again? I can't seem to remember.

I shift my gaze towards the woman who just approached. Long strawberry blond hair fell over her shoulder's in beautiful waves as she leaned over to get a good look at the sleeping infant in my arms. Then her eyes shifted to my crimson hand, she paled a bit. Looking back where the body of that woman, the woman like my very own mother. The woman tore her eyes away from the body, her own trembling with nerves, fear maybe.

In her eyes I saw it. Concern, fear, anxiety, worry, love. Love for the child in my arms, this was her baby. That's right, her baby with her husband at my side. How did I fit in this again? I can't remember, but I know there must be some reason. These people seem to know me, and I know them. My mind just can't process fast enough fr my liking.

Then like lightning, it strikes. Pepper Potts, or Stark now, the wife of Tony Stark AKA Iron Man. My father. The man I didn't get to meet until I was fifteen years old and couldn't even call dad for over a year. That's right. Shifting slightly, I'm careful not to jostle the infant in my arms and not to touch his blanket with my bloodied hands. She needs to see him, to hold him, to keep the baby close to her. Pepper's emerald eyes told me so.

Crossing the floor to where she stands, Pepper looks at me. Her eyes scanning over my features, like she's inspecting me. Leaning forward, I gently set the baby into her open arms and slide my hands out from under his small body. I managed not to get any blood on either the child or Pepper. I step back from her, my head down, eyes directed at the floor. I'm not her child, not a main concern, the infant is the priority.

Daring to give a glance, I look over to see the body of the woman laying lifeless in a puddle of her own blood. Red hair stuck to her face from the dried blood, with the same face as my mother. The same face that would smile at me after a bad day, after a beating inflicted by my former step-father, after all my snide and hateful comments directed at my previously absent father. Her smile. Sparkling green eyes that could light a city.

Suddenly I can't breathe. It's like all the oxygen's been sucked out of the room and nothing but carbon dioxide is left in its wake. My fingers tremble against their will as my heart pounds wildly in my chest. I feel sweat trickle down my face from the blistering heat. The room feels smaller, like it's closing in on me. The walls must be getting closer together, right? It's overwhelming, I can't stay.

My feet propel me forward, I fly past Pepper and the child in her arms. Ignoring the sound of someone shouting my name. My mind's a wild frenzy of chaos and I just need to get out of this room. My mind clutches at the image I saw.

 _Blood._

 _All that blood. My fault. Mine._

 _She's dead. Because of me. I killed her, that woman._

 _Emersyn._

 _She wasn't my mom._

 _But she looked like her. Had her face._

 _All I can see is her face._

 _My mother's face she wore like a mask for Halloween._

 _She wasn't my mother. Wasn't even similar to her in anyway._

 _But she had her face._

 _My mother face and so if condemns me to guilt._

 _It's like I killed her._

 _I did kill her, but it wasn't an enemies face._

 _It was the face of my mother._

 _In a way, I killed her. My own mother, murdered at my hands. Her face like a nightmare to haunt me in my darkest hours. A memory that will cut at my very soul. A judgement that will determine my—!_

My thoughts are cut off when I feel a firm hand grab my wrist. I tug as hard as I can, ignoring the sting in my arm, but this person doesn't release me. No, they turn me around. It him, the man from before. Tony Stark, my father. Why's he here? Shouldn't he be with his wife Pepper, his baby Toby who was missing just the same as I was? It doesn't make any sense why he'd be here with me.

Not that anything really makes sense to me anymore. I narrow my eyes at him, then glance down at his hand the encircles my wrist.

"Is something wrong? Pepper's is back there" I ask, my voice wavering from my shaking nerves.

"Yeah, I know. Are you okay?" his brows crease in what I assume is concern. Concern for me, why. I'm almost eighteen an adult. This onslaught of panic is warping my brain, I can't think straight.

"Why are you here, shouldn't you check up on Toby. I wasn't with him the entire time." my voice cracks.

Dad's looks at me a moment, an eyebrow raised. It's like he's trying to figure out what I meant by that statement. He doesn't say anything, but it seems he comes to an answer for that.

"Pepper's in there and Bruce is inspecting him. He's in good hands, I needed to check on my girl."

Emersyn's lifeless body flashes across my vision again. I subtly wince, feeling warm tears in my eyes. My legs buck beneath me, my legs are giving out.

Before I can fall, two arms wrap around my waist and I fall into someone. Dad eases me down on my knees, sitting on his too. He presses me against him and rubs a hand up and down in a comforting way. I can't hold back the tears anymore. I bury my face as sobs quake my body. I keep my blood stained arms against my chest as Dad's runs a hand through my hair mumbling over and over, "it's all alright."

I don't even stop crying when Pepper, the other Avengers, or my two best friends step out of no where. All I can here are my dad's words and the feeling welling in the pit of my stomach.

But it's not. Nothing's alright, something in me is broken and I'm not sure I can fix it.


	31. Epilogue

_Chapter Thirty-One: Epilogue_

 ** _Can you believe we're finally here? The last installment of book four in Panic's series. I can't believe just how long this story's been going on, and there's still a lot left to go. After this, I'll begin my work on book five and start building up chapters. I'll be called "Hit the Panic Button" and as I've always done there'll been an authors note posted here once the fifth book is posted. Be sure to comment and favorite if you haven't already and thank all of you who've stuck with me and this story! This series is still here because of all of you._**

* * *

The woman in the Black Veil stops outside of what would appear to be an average janitors closet for most passerby's. but she knew better. Being one of the only people who knew what lay beyond this room. Her heart aches at the sight she knows will await her once she types in the pass code that Obadiah Stane had picked out. It was the key that shifted the door from the actual closet to the old stone staircase where he was waiting.

Swallowing down the lump in her throat, she pressing in the pass code with determined focus. Ignoring the black veil that obscures her vision on most occasions, but she knows she has to wear it. It keeps her identity protected and Obadiah has made it clear that no one may know who she is. Pressing the enter button, she feels the rumble beneath her feet as the track switches.

Opening the door, she is immediately hit with the strong, copper cent of blood, sweat, and deprivation. Fighting back tears, she steps soundlessly into the room, closing the door behind her as she starts down the stone stairs. One by one until she reaches the bottom floor. Computer screens line the wall to her right while a prison cell lay on the other. Her eyes only focus on the wall in front of her.

Where he's chained up lie a rag doll. His breathing is ragged, uneven. Almost that of a wounded animal, he is wounded though, the blood dripping to the floor around his body tells as much. His eyes are unfocused and bloodshot. His neck and head are tilted to the side like he doesn't even have enough strength to keep his head upright. Her heart bleeds in agony for him while he bleeds on the outside.

Why did this have to happen? What did she ever do to deserve this, what did he ever do? They were innocent. Sure she made some mistakes in her youth, but nothing amounted to this, nothing was justification for this. A loud bang flooded the room in a wave of bright lights. Panicked, she turns to the stairs just as Obadiah steps down to the floor.

"Aw beautiful isn't it, you concern is overwhelming," he flashes a warm, family like smile. He glances from her to the man hanging in the shackles that keep him bound, deep in his heart it hurts as well. This was someone he's known for awhile after all. His glare hardens.

"Disobey my orders again and he," he looks at the main bruised and bloody. "Won't live to see tomorrow. Am I understood?"

She nods frantically, eyes pleading him not to lay another finger on the man.

"You're dismissed," she turns and hurries out, not daring to look back. Obadiah sighs, turning to look at the hanging man who seems to have gained consciousness. "I'm so sorry about all of this. You do know it wasn't my doing. HYDRA can be very... unforgiving. Between you and me though, I'm glad you survived in the Middle East. It was a lot of work to get The Ten Rings to release you to us Alexander Wallace."

Looking at Obadiah with hate in his eyes, Alexander spit out blood with his words. "Go to hell."

* * *

 **Panic's POV:**

It's after midnight and Dad and Pepper have long since gone to bed, but I can't even thing about going to sleep. Not after what happened today. Everything is still hazy, like a movie rather than actual real life. Even so, the guilt is real, the pain and aching of my body is real, and the self-destructive tendency screaming through my body is real. I can't help myself as I stare at it.

I know what I should do with it, but for some reason I can't make myself put it out of sight. It's mocking me, I can hear it, feel it, see it. Maybe I'm just delusional at this point. I need to be relieved of this, by any means necessary, even if it has to come to this. My mind's made up, it's one hell of a bad decision, I know it is. I have to though, the guilt is killing me.

Alcoholism runs in my family, but I don't care. I grab the bottle.


	32. UPDATE! Hit the Panic Button

**UPDATE!**

 **Hit the Panic Button/other news**

* * *

Hello, I've finally come to announce the first chapter of "Hit the Panic Button" is up and ready, also, I'm currently rewriting "A Girl Named Panic"

Though the rewrite will be a separate story and the original version will remain as it is, I thought it would be fun to go back and update the series, to see how much nicer it could be now that I've worked more with her character. Anyways, I'm back and I hope you like the new series. BTW Panic's not going to be like you remember, she'll be different for awhile, but not forever!


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